Does smartphone use affect teens’ body image?
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New research helps to explain the consequences of teens’ smartphone use.
By Charlotte Markey Ph.D.
We’ve all had moments when we feel the pull of our phones, and even though we know we shouldn’t look, we do. Maybe we’re driving or in the middle of a meeting. Maybe we’re talking with family members or spending time with friends, and then we hear a buzz or beep, and we look. Sometimes our smartphones are a distraction, but sometimes they may be worse than that. For example, one recent experimental study that asked thousands of adults to go without Facebook for a month found a boost in overall well-being at follow-up. As adults, we like to think that we can regulate our social media use, and our smartphone use more generally, and avoid use that is problematic or detrimental to our mental health, but the new data suggest that may not always be the case.
And what about teens?
A survey conducted by Pew Research found that 95% of teens have access to a smartphone. Almost half say they are...
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