Eating Disorder in Social Media: A Virtual Ethnography Study of Pro-Eating Disorder Community #EDtwt in Social Media 'X'

Tabina Azalia Oktara, Mashita Phitaloka Fandia Purwaningtyas, S.I.P., M.A.

2025 | Skripsi | Ilmu Komunikasi

Media sosial memainkan peran penting sebagai wadah untuk berkomunikasi melalui kemampuannya menjembatani pengguna yang terpisah oleh jarak tetapi bersatu oleh minat dan latar belakang yang sama. Pembentukan komunitas daring memberi pasien dengan penyakit mental dan fisik kesempatan untuk memperoleh dukungan dan informasi di ruang yang bebas dari penghakiman dan diskriminasi. Komuntas EDtwt di media sosial X memiliki tujuan menyediakan ruang baggi pengguna dengan perilaku makan menyimpang untuk mendapatkan dukungan dan berinteraksi satu sama lain. Akan tetapi, cita-cita dan budaya pro gangguan makanan yang ditanamkan dalam komunitas perilaku makanan menyimpang menimbulkan konotasi negatif. Dalam penelitian ini, pengalaman pengguna EDtwt diamati dengan memanfaatkan etnografi virtual sebagai metodologi utama dan teori komunitas daring serta konvergensi simbolik sebagai kerangka teoritis utama. Objek yang diamati adalah aktivitas informan di EDtwt, meliputi konten yang dikonsumsi dan dicari, serta interaksi dalam komunitas EDtwt untuk membandingkan dukungan terhadap gangguan di lingkungan fisik dan cyber. Temuan studi ini menunjukkan bahwa pengguna EDtwt mencari dukungan emosional dan sosial untuk perilaku makan menyimpang mereka melalui EDtwt, karena EDtwt berfungsi sebagai komunitas daring tempat terjadinya konvergensi simbolis antara orang yang mengalami gejala perilaku makan menyimpang, sehingga menciptakan rasa keanggotaan dan validasi.

Social media has played an important role as a medium to conduct communication through its ability to bridge users who are separated by distance but united with shared interests and backgrounds. The creation of online communities provides patients with mental and physical ailments a chance to attain support and information in a space free of judgment and discrimination. The community of EDtwt on X serves its purposes of providing a space for users with eating disorders to attain support and interact with one another. However, the pro-ED ideals and cultures instilled within the community produced negative connotations for the community. In this study, the experiences of EDtwt users are observed by utilizing virtual ethnography as its main methodology and the theory of online community and symbolic convergence as its main theoretical framework. Objects observed are the informants' activities on EDtwt, which include content consumed and sought, as well as the interaction within EDtwt communities. The content observed ranges from thinspiration to anti-fat media to infer the effect of pro-ED media on eating disorder patients. Furthermore, engagement and interaction within the community are studied to give insights into the difference between attaining support on ED in physical and cyber environments. The findings of this paper have shown that users of EDtwt seek emotional and social support for their ED through EDtwt as it serves its purpose as an online community where symbolic convergence between people experiencing ED symptoms occurs, thus creating a sense of belonging and validation.

Kata Kunci : Online community, Eating Disorder, Symbolic Convergence, Qualitative Research