How is adolescents’ media use, particularly of image-based social media platforms, affecting and amplifying their body image concerns?

On this episode of Screen Deep, host Kris Perry discusses the impacts of digital media use on adolescents’ physical and mental health with Dr. Jason Nagata. Drawing on his experience as a researcher and a pediatrician, Dr. Nagata highlights the link between digital media and body image and eating disorders, particularly among boys, who are often overlooked on this topic and whose body image problems and eating disorders often present differently from girls. In addition, he shares research findings linking specific mental health symptoms to use of digital media, explores other health outcomes linked to digital media use, and discusses demographic and gender differences in media use patterns and health outcomes.

In this episode you will learn:

• What the ABCD study is and why it’s providing quality data for research into adolescent screen use and health.
• What mental health symptoms in adolescents are most associated with high amounts of screen use.
• Gender and other demographic differences in screen uses and their health impacts in adolescents.
• What aspects of screen use are most impacting body image and eating disorder symptoms in youth.
• How teen boys are experiencing body image pressure from media - and differences in how their body image disorder symptoms present.
• What warning signs parents and caregivers can watch for that indicate an adolescent’s attention to exercise is becoming unhealthy.
• The biggest predictor of high amounts of adolescent screen time (hint: parents).

For more resources and research on this topic visit the Learn and Explore section of the Children and Screens website (https://www.childrenandscreens.org)

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Music: 'Life in Silico' by Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.au