Since its birth, social media has served as a way to connect with others, but sometimes, this can cause comparison and have negative effects on its users. This in-depth focuses on the impact of social media on eating disorders in various ways and provides resources for anyone who may be struggling with them.
Judges’ comments:
This was an incredibly ambitious project on an important topic that is challenging to get people to talk about. Their interviews — from teacher, principal, counselor, dietitian, student, parent — wove a thoughtful, insightful, informative and heartbreaking package. The story about Kyra Landers and her struggle with body image was particularly powerful, ending on a hopeful note. The package stoked reader outrage toward social media companies and their use of algorithms to prey on young people and to help fuel eating disorders. “The Filter Effect” piece was particularly eye-opening, and the “before” and “after” images gave it additional heft. Fantastic team effort. Excellent sourcing. Bravo!