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Weight-Related Bullying Increases With More Screen Time, Social Media Use

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on April 18, 2024.

By Lori Solomon HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, April 18, 2024 -- Among an international sample of adolescents, there is an association of increased screen time hours and social media use with weight-related bullying, according to a study published online April 17 in PLOS ONE.

Kyle T. Ganson, Ph.D., from University of Toronto, and colleagues examined the association of screen time and social media use with weight-related bullying victimization among an international sample of adolescents from six countries. The analysis included data from 12,031 participants in the 2020 International Food Policy Study Youth Survey.

The researchers found that greater hours of weekday screen time and use of each of the six social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, Snapchat, and Twitch) were associated with weight-related bullying victimization. For each additional hour of social media use, there was a 13 percent increase in the prevalence of weight-related bullying victimization. Twitter use was associated with a 69 percent increase in the prevalence of weight-related bullying victimization. There was variance by country for the associations of hours of weekday screen time and use of the six social media platforms with weight-related bullying victimization.

"These findings are independent of several potential confounding factors, including participant country, underscoring the global relevance of our findings," the authors write.

Abstract/Full Text

Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

© 2024 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Posted April 2024

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