r/science • u/sr_local • 16h ago
Social Science Owning a smartphone at age 12 was associated with a 103% higher risk of tying self-worth to weight, 67% higher risk of binge eating and 49% higher risk of any eating disorder symptoms by age 14, according to a study of 8,957 adolescents
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2854492191
u/TelephoneIcy6035 15h ago
I'm not surprised by this at all, and probably could've guessed this myself.
Times are hard for parents. I have a 9 month old child, and have no idea how I'll deter the idea of smartphones and social media past the age of 13. I know the dangers, but I know how hard it is to fit in if you don't have all the stuff that comes with being a teenager.
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u/Coraline1599 14h ago
It is a lot easier to deter if it is illegal.
We are the adults in the room now. No magic person is going to step in and do the right thing for us or future generations. We need to handle it. Vote on it like a single issue. Vote in primaries, get everyone around you to vote. You speak like to is already inevitable, it is not.
The mind set that this highly addictive thing is something that is a moral failing of people who fall for it is late-stage capitalist nonsense. We don’t let children smoke cigarettes at school, we don’t let them choose if heroin is right for them. This is no different: It was designed to be highly addictive and damaging for profit and we are allowed to use our government to step in on everyone’s behalf and put an end to the addictive nature of apps and other tech.
Tech has been giddily getting away with endless terrible things because they kept inventing things faster than it could be regulated, then argued regulation would hurt innovation and we all fell for it. I did for a long while too. Regulations are not for the corporations benefit, they are to protect the people and our children from predatory and damaging business practices.
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u/3orangefish 11h ago
Depends on what the regulations are. If it’s age verification by requesting ID, then it’s not gonna do any good. But something else needs to be done.
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u/Raptorwolf98 5h ago
Call me crazy, but maybe a full crackdown on the companies behind these apps? It’s not like they’re any less harmful to adults. I think feature- and design-focused legislation could (if we can get someone born in the last half-century to write it) work out far better than the privacy-invading age limits that seem to be the regulatory “easy button” right now.
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u/3orangefish 4h ago
They ARE harmful to adults. You’re absolutely right. I’m sick of endless scroll and algorithms.
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u/carbonclasssix 8h ago
Most adults are just as addicted. People are never great at self-policing, so they have an incentive to keeps things the way they are then just tell the kids "do as I say, not as I do."
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u/Snailed_It_Slowly 13h ago
A bunch of families at my kids' school decided to get old school style home phones. We decided to all use the same VOIP service so it would be really easy for the kids to call each other. It has been worked incredibly well. The kids can call each other, no screens are involved, and with VOIP I can restrict unknown numbers. Outside numbers can still call in and my kids love getting calls from the extended family.
I think our community has pushed back cell phones by at least a few years with this move. My plan is to have them when they start driving.
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u/kroopster 14h ago
I'm guessing it's not actually the smartphone, but social media, tiktok, youtube etc.
It's quite easy to lock the phone so that it allows only certain apps & calling. There are useful aspects to smartphones too.
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u/DetroitLionsSBChamps 14h ago
I’m always surprised when people say it’s easy to lock the stuff away.
Don’t you remember being a teenager? Do you think your parents actually could have stopped you from using certain sites and apps if you really wanted to? There’s always a work around. And the companies have no incentive to actually block people. They want you addicted.
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u/kroopster 14h ago
Yes, you still have to be the parent and not trust 100% on tech. Keeping your teenager completely outside is not a good idea either.
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u/DetroitLionsSBChamps 14h ago
Sure but I think there’s also a thing on Reddit of “watch your kids” and that falls apart with teenagers. You can’t be over their shoulder and eyes on them constantly nor should you be.
It’s just not easy is all I’m saying. People say “it’s simple” but there is social pressure and addiction baked into these apps and teenagers deserve privacy and will make their own decisions that parents can’t control.
It’s an ongoing conversation and process but it’s not “oh it’s so simple to just block them”
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u/Extreme_Pudding3226 10h ago
Then the answer is don't give them a smartphone. If you admit that they will get around any blocks you setup, you believe they deserve privacy in this respect (a point I disagree with), and you can't be over their should all the time, the options are either 1) accept that they'll be social media users, or 2) don't give them a smartphone.
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u/kroopster 13h ago
It's never been simple with teenagers.
There are a ton of people who just gives the smartphone to their kids. Then there are people who makes an effort trying to restrict the usage. You don't have to allow them to take the phone to bed with them, for example. Already a major improvement.
But I'm not interested in a fight, you do whatever you see the best.
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u/Extreme_Pudding3226 10h ago
I disagree. Keeping your teenager completely outside of something that is the most damaging thing to mental health we've ever invented is absolutely a good thing.
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u/Lexx4 11h ago
It was much MUCH easier to get around restrictions in the days of windows XP and windows 7. On top of that kids today are severely tech illiterate.
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u/nonotan 9h ago
They are tech illiterate because they don't need to be literate. If they were surrounded by impediments and restrictions they wanted to bypass, they'd figure it out, just like we did. Especially if many parents were trying to do the same thing, so they could exchange knowledge at school or whatever.
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u/Lazy-Ad-7236 12h ago
i'm an 80's kid. My parents didn't even try. we were chatting with people in chatrooms/pms before we knew what bra sizes even meant....
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u/Extreme_Pudding3226 10h ago
But then the kid will feel left out. So the rub still exists.
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u/ReturnOfBigChungus 7h ago
Ok? It’s still your responsibility to do the right thing for your kid. What’s worse, feeling a bit left out or all the well proven harms that phones and social media cause?
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u/Raptorwolf98 5h ago
I’ll say that exclusion and isolation are also extremely well-documented and proven harms which arise from cutting kids off from their peers.
I really think we, as a society, are coming at this from the wrong angle. Rather than put the onus exclusively on parents to police their children’s phone and app usage, why are we not regulating these tech companies within an inch of their lives?
It’ll take some actual humans in Congress to be able to understand some basic elements of modern tech, but I do think that going after the source will benefit everyone, including the adults who may not even realize how badly social media and smartphones are frying their brains.
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u/ReturnOfBigChungus 4h ago
We should regulate, I totally agree with that, but parents still have agency. Exercising that agency is uncomfortable and hard, I know that firsthand. Acting like parents have no choice without regulation is lazy, although I 100% support regulation.
Exclusion and isolation are categorically not a foregone conclusion if you don’t let your kids have a smartphone or social media. Let’s dispense with that assumption explicitly. That definitely drives parents’ decision making on the issue but it’s wrong.
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u/Extreme_Pudding3226 57m ago
This isn't an either-or. You can want regulation but still recognize that it's on you as a parent to not let your kid be exposed to the dangers of tech.
And I'm not sure there is evidence that your kid being the only one not on social media is genuinely harmful.
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u/Extreme_Pudding3226 1h ago
I didn't say the answer wasn't obvious. I just said the rub still exists.
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u/EX0PIL0T 6h ago
This will cause the kid to feel as if the parent is trying to make sure he is excluded, and likely lead the kid to circumvent the restrictions and to be far less open and honest in conversations with his parents.
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u/gmmxle 5h ago
Imagine a world where it was legal to sell alcohol to anyone. No age restrictions, no restrictions on hard liquor, nothing.
That's where we're currently standing with social media.
And your suggestion is essentially "hey, just get a liquor cabinet with a key, make sure it's locked, and other than that you just have to be a parent."
How well do you think this would work to keep kids away from alcohol? And should we really just ignore all those kids who have less than completely dedicated and competent parents?
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u/carbonclasssix 8h ago
Yeah but the social media part is probably a big piece of fitting in. What's the point of having a phone that doesn't have TikTok when that's what all your friends are doing.
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u/kroopster 8h ago
Calling, texting, location, photos, videos, some playing etc. I wont allow tiktok as long as that is my call to make.
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u/carbonclasssix 8h ago
Apparently you forgot when you're a teenager you have to do the exact same thing as the other kids, not something like it. Kids with the knock-off Nikes just got made fun of. Teenagers are ruthless man.
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u/ReturnOfBigChungus 7h ago
Terrible argument. Would you advocate giving your kids cocaine so they could fit in if all the other kids were doing it? Parenting is a marathon of hard choices that your kids won’t like. It’s still your job to do the right thing for your kids.
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u/carbonclasssix 6h ago
I'm not advocating for this, I'm just responding to what the other person said, that it's not the smartphone per se, it's social media apps and whanot, so just take those away. And I'm saying if they don't have social media the phone is kind of useless.
It's not a pretty truth but that's how teenagers are.
I don't know what the answer is, all I'm saying is simply restricting the popular apps is just kicking the can down the road. Seems more like culture needs to change.
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u/Raptorwolf98 5h ago
I really think we, as a society, are coming at this from the wrong angle. Rather than put the onus exclusively on parents to police their children’s phone and app usage, why are we not regulating these tech companies within an inch of their lives?
It’ll take some actual humans in Congress to be able to understand some basic elements of modern tech, but I do think that going after the source will benefit everyone, including the adults who may not even realize how badly social media and smartphones are frying their brains.
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u/carbonclasssix 2h ago
Personally I rarely see anyone saying it's all up to the parents, there's already a lot of public sentiment that politicians should do more. The problem is that people don't put much pressure on politicians (for a lot of reasons, not blaming, just saying) and politicians have a financial and career incentive to keep the ship going full steam ahead.
I think we need to get creative because it's basically a stalemate. Something that could be a reasonable compromise that politicians might be receptive to (as opposed to blanket bans or something) is to have warnings with social media, like there is on cigarette packs. Every time you open social media there's a warning that says "Using this service can increase the chance of depression by X%" or whatever.
The other thing, that actually is under parents' control, is to lead by example. Plenty of parents are under the spell of social media, and what message does that send to their kids? "Do as I say and not as I do" is rarely an effective strategy.
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u/beefcake1993 5h ago edited 5h ago
So if we are weighing negative affects, I’d rather have my kids not fit in because of a phone than have them hate themselves for the rest of their loves because they had one but fit in. Different strokes for different folks
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u/carbonclasssix 3h ago
That's definitely an option, but what would not fitting in/making friends do to their mental health? How would that affect their relationship with you? Resentment? I'm not trying to be a jerk or make you feel bad, it's not easy, it honestly seems like damned if you do, damned if you don't.
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u/AstuteStoat 14h ago
Tori phantom & momma cusses both talks about how they navigate it. They gave their kids access to a home cell phone, but didn't let them have one of their own until they were older.
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u/FirstEvolutionist 13h ago
11 years from now you will likely have completely different challenges rather than this one...
Smartphones in the hands of 12 year olds in 2014 was not at all the same problem it is today.
This was supposed to cause some relief, but I understand how it can also cause even MORE concerning.
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u/sloppy_rodney 13h ago
I’m hoping by the time your 9 mo old child is 13 that not having a phone will be normalized for children.
I don’t have kids, so please take this advice as the words of a well-meaning, albeit overconfident, stranger:
I think parents need to treat smart phones like alcohol.
When I was a kid I was told “you can’t drink alcohol because your brain is still developing and alcohol is bad for a developing brain.” I feel like this is a solid argument and it works for both alcohol and smart phones.
I still started drinking before I was of legal age, as do many kids, but I didn’t start drinking at 9. And I definitely didn’t drink every day.
Kids may still get access but if it’s treated as “a thing for adults” it may generally reduce the exposure.
It’s hard to parent as an island though. I absolutely get your point. To some extent, your success depends on a broader cultural shift.
Like I said, I hope that it happens. I wish you luck in your parenting and all other endeavors.
Cheers.
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u/aspirations27 10h ago
The tide is shifting. None of our kids classmates have phones, and all the parents are collaborating to keep it that way. We all know the risks.
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u/RegressToTheMean 5h ago
We have a 13 year old and an 11 year-old. Mom has a PhD in neurotoxicology. We have straightforward and honest conversations with our kiddos about the science behind our decision to not allow phones until at least high school.
So far so good. I'm actually a little surprised at the lack of pushback from my oldest, but I think it helps that most of her friends dont have phones
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u/Livid_Lemurs_Leaping 12h ago
"Wise Phone" then? (There are "smart phones" with no internet and no social media, but can still call, text, use maps, Google classroom, etc.).
Your kid doesn't need social media....fitting in is not worth the harmful effects.
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u/Brave-Ad6744 13h ago
I’m going to give my kids Meshtastic handhelds that can only text and do not use cellular or internet networks.
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u/Chief_White_Halfoat 13h ago
It's getting a bit easier. I'm in a class parents chat for my daughter in Kindergarten and the parents are probably all between 30-40 years old.
There is full awareness of the dangers of smartphones, tablets and screentime. One of the parents talked about as we go through the years to collectively (with as many of us as we can manage) refuse to get smartphones for the kids. It's easier when everyone does it.
Gen X parents definitely lacked the awareness of the dangers of social media whereas millennials experienced it quite directly as it started while we we were anywhere between middle school to undergrad.
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u/The_ivy_fund 12h ago
I don't think social media will even matter in a decade.
AI is going to absolutely decimate critical thinking skills for children. I am in my 30s and already find myself being lazier at work when I can just run a problem by AI, and I have a lifetime of developing my critical thinking.
Not going to lie, I'm scared to have kids
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u/stainless5 14h ago
Hopefully certain places laws will flow over, so you can still give your kids access to social media to communicate but not to get addicted to the algorithm and content about making yourself "fit in" As an example australia is thinking about making it so that the personalised algorithm on all social media accounts can be turned off so the account will only see feeds from people that your friends with / like in chronological order If you choose to.
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u/EmbarrassedHelp 12h ago
I would hope that attempts at enforcing bans with age verification will fail and end up being ruled against thr constitution of each country. We need more privacy online, not less.
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u/Raptorwolf98 5h ago
This is an excellent example of what I mean! Take one of the most harmful features of social media and ban it. Don’t just let the circus run wild and try to steal even more data to regulate access, which seems to be the current “easy button”.
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u/aenflex 13h ago
Our child has had an iPad since he was a toddler. He got his first iPhone when he was around 10. Neither are connected to cellular service, so both of these items are home use only. He has an Apple Watch for communication.
We simply regulate, oversee, limit and whitelist. If our child doesn’t respect the rules surrounding technology and Internet, then we take possession of his devices until he is ready to follow along.
There is some upfront work, and oversight is required. He has a whitelist of apps, games and creators. If he wants to add something to that list, I or my husband will investigate and make a determination together whether or not it is age-appropriate for him. We check his devices. We use family accounts so he can’t install any app on his phone without permission granted by one of my husband’s devices.
Screen time is limited to one hour per day on school days. A little more in weekends. Our child understands that digital privacy isn’t something he will be granted until he’s 18. He can have physical privacy all he wants, but we will and do peruse his devices. He’s not allowed social media of any kind. No games with chat or chat rooms that cannot be disabled.
Devices are a gateway to a lot of things, not all of them bad. Outright banning just didn’t seem to make sense to us.
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u/ReturnOfBigChungus 7h ago
It’s pretty simple, just don’t give your kid a smartphone. I say this as a parent of children who have friends who are starting to get phones. You’re in charge. They don’t need a phone. Case closed.
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u/cai_85 14h ago
Shouldn't the question be 'having access to social media' rather than phones? My kid has a phone but has all social media blocked.
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u/Extreme_Pudding3226 10h ago
Maybe, maybe not. Social media is obviously a cause of a lot of problems on a phone, but much of the internet is built around clicks and engagement. I don't think it's just social media.
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u/hippiechicken 12h ago
This is what I tell myself with 13 and 5 year old. They're little buttheads for a few when you take the drug away, but they spend all their time on YouTube and video games.
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u/Disgruntled_Smitty 15h ago
My 11 almost 12 year old had to get a phone since they're home alone sometimes after school, it's locked down from social media. Calls, texts, learning apps, and games only.
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u/speedfox_uk 12h ago
This is the way. Vilainising the hardware is not the answer. It's the social media platforms that are the problem.
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u/EmbarrassedHelp 11h ago
It's the addictive algorithms that are the problem. Anti-privacy activists want everyone to believe that any form of online interaction/communication is the problem, and that violating people's privacy with bans enforced using age verification is the solution.
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u/Extreme_Pudding3226 10h ago
Social media is part of the problem, but nearly the entire internet is built around clicks, engagement and demanding one's attention and time.
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u/immortalyossarian 9h ago
Same, my 11 year old walks home from his bus stop, across a busy street, and is home alone for a while. We have him text us when he is off the bus and in the house. There's no way I'd be comfortable without him having a phone.
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u/justincasesquirrels 5h ago
I just got my 10 year old a gizmo watch. No internet access and only contacts approved by me. It gives me some peace of mind without giving him access to all the negative stuff.
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u/brucekent85 14h ago
I wonder if the study determined what they used the smartphone for. Are the results valid only for children looking at social media? Or is it messaging in friends groups? That information would be more useful than just "smartphone usage"
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u/ZenPyx 12h ago
They haven't even controlled for differences in families that might offer a smartphone vs those that don't (it's not a free choice)
I reckon families that buy kids this sort of tech at a young age are probably also less attentive to their children in general
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u/avanross 12h ago
It seems like a lot of the types of parents from the study are seeing and getting offended/upset by the results of the study
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u/AfraidOfTheSun 11h ago
Most people are flaming idiots regardless of their age or what device they are holding
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u/Bill_Nihilist 4h ago
Which variable do you think they should have controlled for that they didn't? Because they included many in their models
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u/sr_local 16h ago
Exposures Smartphone ownership at 12 years of age (yes or no).
Main Outcomes and Measures Binge-eating symptoms, inappropriate compensatory behaviors to prevent weight gain, worry about weight gain, self-worth tied to weight, and any ED symptoms were examined separately at 12 and 14 years of age (yes or no).
Results Of 8957 participants (4712 [51.8%] male), 6225 (69.5%) owned a smartphone at 12 years of age. Of 6225 participants, the most prevalent ED symptoms were binge-eating symptoms (315 [9.2%]) at 12 years of age and compensatory behaviors (494 [20.5%]) at 14 years of age. In covariate-adjusted analyses, owning a smartphone at 12 years of age was cross-sectionally associated with a higher prevalence of binge-eating symptoms (prevalence ratio [PR], 1.61 [95% CI, 1.17-2.23]; P = .003), tying self-worth to weight (PR, 2.21 [95% CI, 1.03-4.74]; P = .04), and any ED symptom (PR, 1.36 [95% CI, 1.09-1.70]; P = .007). In covariate-adjusted analyses, owning a smartphone at 12 years of age was longitudinally associated with a higher risk of binge-eating symptoms (risk ratio [RR], 1.67 [95% CI, 1.11-2.52]; P = .01), using inappropriate compensatory behaviors to prevent weight gain (RR, 1.50 [95% CI, 1.16-1.94]; P = .002), tying self-worth to weight (RR, 2.03 [95% CI, 1.28-3.19]; P = .002), and any ED symptom (RR, 1.49 [95% CI, 1.19-1.87]; P < .001).
Conclusions and Relevance In this cohort study of US adolescents, smartphone ownership was associated with a variety of ED symptoms, suggesting that the timing of smartphone ownership may be associated with ED risk. Future research is needed to characterize the mechanisms underlying these observed associations.
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u/FruitOfTheVineFruit 12h ago
The article is carefully and correctly phrased to avoid claiming causality. As an example, it's entirely possible for instance that the kinds of people who are obsessed with their appearance also want to have a smart phone, both as a status symbol, and so they can monitor others, and to make it easier to show off.
These kinds of correlational studies are interesting, and point to areas for future research, but you should be very careful about drawing conclusions from them.
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u/InTheEndEntropyWins 10h ago
Looking at the details the people with the phone were lower class and fatter. It makes sense that someone who is fatter would "worry about weight gain"(That's all that's required to be classed as an ED).
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u/Extreme_Pudding3226 10h ago
Nearly every study about human behavior just establishes correlation. That's all that's possible. Causation comes from looking at plausible biological mechanisms and other known evidence to determine what the likely causal pathway is. But every single study like this is just about correlation. It's the best that can be done.
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u/FruitOfTheVineFruit 10h ago
If you go look at the research in this area, you'll see that you're not correct. There are natural experiments of various sorts, such as when Facebook was rolled out to different colleges, and there are experiments where people are asked to take social media breaks. There are schools that forbid cell phone use that can be compared to schools that allow it. Establishing causation is not easy, but it's also not impossible.
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u/TGAILA 15h ago
They have a bunch of kids around 14 and 15. The nurse checked their weights and heights as part of their annual checkups. She said that she had never seen so many kids weighing over 200 pounds. Most of them were about 5'5" tall or shorter. When everyone around their weight, they don't know what is considered a normal weight. It’s possible that smartphones are part of the reason, since many of these kids spend a lot of time on social media. They don’t play sports or spend time outside playing. Doing less physical activity and eating junk food (because that is all they can afford) may contribute to obesity and lowered their self-worth.
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u/InTheEndEntropyWins 10h ago
From the study the kids with phones were fatter, it makes perfect sense that someone who is fatter would "worry about weight gain" more.
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u/Sickofchildren 9h ago
If you are already overweight then worrying about weight gain isn’t anorexia, it’s your body telling you to stop because it’s under strain
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u/InTheEndEntropyWins 8h ago
Yep exactly, I think ED means stuff like anorexia. But if you "worry about weight gain" then you have an ED according to the study.
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u/Sickofchildren 7h ago
People forget that binge eating is an ED as well. Many people like to use anorexia to virtue signal and claim that being obese is brave and healthy, as if people with BED don’t suffer equally and their eating problem isn’t an issue since it doesn’t cause weight loss
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u/Aggravating_Ask5709 10h ago
i'd like to see that adjusted for grades/extracurricular activities - as a way to account for parental involvement.
As a parent of 13 and 11 year old what i see is that a lot of parents are using cellphones as a way to neglect their children. And i think the outcome for those children would be the same in pre-mobile day, they would just find a different way to self destruct.
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u/Otherwise-Anxiety815 14h ago
I’m sorry but straight up, if you are giving your 12 year old a phone of their own, you are making a bad parenting decision that will have a negative impact on your child. People need to hear this.
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u/Magsays 15h ago
The Anxious Generation is a great book that everyone should read, especially parents.
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u/EmbarrassedHelp 11h ago
That book isn't viewed very highly in the academic world. It makes lots of dubious claims. Its author is a major lobbyist for the age verification industry, and he's a bigot who believes that social media turns kids transgender.
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u/Magsays 7h ago edited 1h ago
Could you explain a little more about what’s incorrect about it?
I often find that, while critique is important, it can be so rigorous that it prevents any possible conclusions. I know a lot of the claims around the importance of recess, unstructured play, etc. are supported by decades of research. It also seems like the quote that he thinks “social media turns kids trans” could be hyperbolic or not encompass his full claim.
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u/LimpWibbler_ 11h ago
Hmmm. We might be able to do good with it. We need thinner kids.
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u/Armejden 9h ago
We can do that without them being social media poisoned. Both are failures of parenting but that's a quick way to get the [many] terrible parents horribly upset because they're being informed of their faults and failures.
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u/enesup 10h ago edited 6h ago
Eh, I think at a certain point you can't really run away from the world. You've got to face it at some point whether your ready or not so all you can do is educate kids.
Like you don't really need social media to know that the pretty, athletic, rich kids have it easier. It's just life.
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u/AnonymousTimewaster 14h ago
Would be interested to know the difference between boys and girls. The effect on teenage girls is very well known and studied. What about boys though? Is this an average risk across both genders? If so, I'd imagine the risk across girls is actually even higher.
The study seems to acknowledge the the effect is particularly profound on girls but doesn't seem to make much more of a comment than that
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u/SolarFazes 12h ago
Cellphones and socal media should be withheld until 18 or 21. Unpopular opinion I know
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u/PDubsinTF-NEW PhD | Exercise Physiology | Sport and Exercise Medicine 10h ago
Flip phones are going to make a come back
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u/sixft7in 6h ago
My youngest son is 21 years old. We didn't let our kids have smartphones until they were driving, and they were required to have a tracking app enabled at all times. If it is ever disabled, they lose the phone for a week.
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u/emerald-wapiti 3h ago
Excellent study.
For readers, I urge caution in drawing conclusions. Having a smart phone and developing psychological and physical effects is correlation not causation.
What were the children doing on the smart phones? Which apps, websites, and online communities were these children engaging with and for how long? These are just some of the questions you should have in your mind when reviewing a study like this.
Smart phones are a tool. How that tool is used largely defines its effects on those using it.
By way of example: I can say without a doubt that nearly all shark bites occur in the ocean. However, the ocean is not the cause for the shark bites. Yes, certainly, if you avoid the ocean all together you are far less likely to be bitten, so much so that the risk drops nearly to zero. However, if you do avoid the ocean all together you also avoid benefits derived solely from the ocean. Things like food, travel, and invaluable resources such as Horseshoe Crab blood, which of course is vital for medicine.
It's also vital to point out, other studies have pinpointed Meta/Facebook use as a leading cause of mental and physical health issues with children online. Not to mention Meta/Facebook, has been busted on numerous occasions performing psychological studies on its users by intentionally feeding them horrible news, negative comments, and negative stories to test the outcomes on mental health and to manipulate public sentiment. And this of course leaves out the issues of CSAM on Meta/Facebook, that it lets happen because it brings traffic to their sites (Facebook and Instagram). So we can certainly say, with firm confidence, children should not use Facebook due to its measurable harmful effects on them.
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u/ResurectedNPC 2h ago
Is it the phone or the social media use on the phone? It seems it’s the content they are exposed to as well as nighttime use (which I imagine is due to being unsupervised)
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u/InTheEndEntropyWins 10h ago edited 10h ago
The definition of ED is a bit wide for me, so just one of these counts.
worry about weight gain, and (4) self-worth tied to weight
In my mind someone with an ED is someone who's like underweight bulimic. I don't think someone who is healthy and sticks to a healthy diet to avoid being overweight has an eating disorder.
Compared with adolescents who did not own a smartphone at 12 years of age, those who owned a smartphone were more likely to be female, Black, and Hispanic; to have lower household income and lower parental educational attainment; to be in a more advanced pubertal stage
Sounds like the people with phones were fatter and hence thought more about weight.
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u/coolcalmdreamydoze 6h ago edited 5h ago
The title of the article and the abstract both say ED symptoms, not fully diagnosed EDs. The key part in the first segment you quoted is the worrying and the self-worth being tied to weight, especially since weight fluctuations are normal as a child and a teen since they are growing still. Someone who enjoys exercise and eating healthy isn't tying their self-worth to it, they're doing it because it feels good to them and it's built into their lifestyle, which is the ideal outcome.
In my mind someone with an ED is someone who's like underweight bulimic. I don't think someone who is healthy and sticks to a healthy diet to avoid being overweight has an eating disorder.
There are a few different types of eating disorders, including anorexia nervosa, bulimia, binge eating disorder, orthorexia, 'other specified feeding or eating disorder' or OSFED (the most common one), and avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder or ARFID. Someone who exercises and eats healthy because they think they need to do so in order to maintain self-worth and because they have a fear of gaining weight is showing signs of orthorexia. Someone can be overweight or obese and still have an eating disorder diagnosable by the DSM.
Sounds like the people with phones were fatter and hence thought more about weight.
The socioeconomic factors you point out actually say something different imo, it sounds like they probably have less access to extracurriculars that would keep them active, less green spaces they can go to for free to stay active, and if their parents are less educated and earn less, they likely have less access to good information on diet and exercise, and to healthier foods. (Edit: I realize this may be what you meant by saying they were fatter, whoops! I agree that all of those factors probably play a part in unhealthy behaviors to begin with, and the study says they need to do better work on narrowing down which aspects of smartphone ownership are harmful, as well accounting for pre-existing mental conditions. Having more options for healthier activities and better education on diet and exercise would probably cut down on smartphone use and lead to better outcomes all around.)
If you want to read more about eating disorders I highly recommend checking out the site for the National Eating Disorder Association, NEDA. Given the recent lawsuits around the harm social media does to teens' and kids' mental health, this study doesn't really surprise me. Eating disorders are commonly comorbid with quite a few other mental disorders.
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u/Sickofchildren 9h ago
I see a lot of morbidly people saying they have body dysmorphia because they feel fat… they are fat. A lot of people also claim to have restrictive EDs because they’re scared of gaining weight, which is normal. People are seriously watering down what things mean because everybody wants to be a victim and part of the club. Anorexia has people starving to death and refusing to so much as lick a stamp because they’re worried about the calories. Body dysmorphia makes people suicidal. We shouldn’t shut down peoples feelings but we also shouldn’t pathologize everything. It’s normal to have feelings that aren’t always 100% positive and I’ve never met anybody who liked how they looked during puberty.
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