Increased time spent viewing oneself while videoconferencing during COVID-19 can increase depression and anxiety, but does not impact eating or body image

Due to COVID-19, many used videoconferencing as a medium of communication with coworkers, professors, and friends. Because of increased videoconferencing in many people’s lives, various articles have been written to advise people on how to look their best while videoconferencing. Most of the research conducted on viewing oneself more frequently through a screen and body image has been on selfie behaviors. In this study, researchers aimed to investigate whether or not participants videoconferenced and thus viewed themselves more frequently during COVID-19. Researchers also aimed to investigate whether or not this predicted participants’ scores on various scales pertaining to depression, anxiety, stress, appearance orientation, appearance evaluation, body satisfaction, and binge eating. Researchers hypothesized that 1) Participants videoconferenced more frequently over the two-week period in April 2020 than February 2020 2) Scores measuring mood – depression, stress, and anxiety decreased significantly from February to April, as predicted by more frequent videoconferencing 3) Emphasis on appearance increased and evaluation of appearance as well as body satisfaction decreased, as predicted by more frequent videoconferencing 4) Binge eating increased, as predicted by more frequent videoconferencing. Researchers recruited n=143 participants through Mechanical Turk and snowball sampling to participate in a survey titled “Users' Experiences with Videoconferencing before and during COVID-19.” After analyzing data from this survey, researchers determined that scores on depression, anxiety, and stress increased and that this was predicted by increased time spent videoconferencing. Appearance orientation, evaluation, and satisfaction all decreased; however, this was not predicted by time spent videoconferencing. There were no changes in binge eating pathology. Further research should determine how other factors pertaining to COVID-19 impact mood and body-image, and whether or not certain features such as switching to audio calls or text chatting can help minimize potential risks to mood and body image that occur as a result of videoconferencing. Further research should also examine interventions for populations who are at a higher risk of eating disorder pathology, such as younger girls.