Study links early smartphone ownership to increased eating disorder symptoms in adolescents

Research suggests that children who own smartphones from age 12 are more likely to experience symptoms of eating disorders by age 14, raising concerns about early device exposure and adolescent health.

Adolescents who had a smartphone by age 12 were more likely to report several eating disorder symptoms, according to a study in JAMA Network Open that followed young people through early adolescence. The findings do not prove that phones cause disordered eating, but they add to a growing body of research suggesting that earlier access to a personal device may shape health in ways parents and clinicians should not ignore.

The study drew on data from the large US-based ABCD cohort and focused on smartphone ownership at age 12, then compared eating disorder symptoms at ages 12 and 14. Researchers looked for signs including binge eating, behaviours intended to undo eating, concern about weight gain and linking self-worth to body weight. The analysis also took account of factors such as sex, race, household income, parental education, puberty, depressive symptoms, attention-deficit/hyperactivity symptoms and access to other devices.

Among nearly 9,000 adolescents in the study, around seven in ten already owned a smartphone at age 12. Those who did were more likely to be girls, and more likely to come from lower-income households or families where parents had less education. At age 12, binge eating was the most common symptom reported, while worry about weight gain was relatively uncommon. By age 14, almost a quarter of smartphone owners reported at least one eating disorder symptom.

After adjustment, owning a smartphone at age 12 was linked with higher rates of binge eating, tying self-worth to weight and reporting any eating disorder symptom at the same age. The association also extended into the future: by age 14, early smartphone owners were more likely to report binge eating, compensatory behaviours and weight-related self-worth concerns. The sex difference stood out for one measure, with the study finding a stronger cross-sectional link between smartphone ownership and worry about weight gain among girls than boys.

Researchers and commentators say the results should be treated as a warning sign rather than proof of harm. The study authors noted several possible pathways, including exposure to appearance-focused social media, sleep disruption and the effects of stressful online experiences. But because the work was observational and relied on self-reported symptoms, it cannot establish cause and effect, and the authors said more research is needed to understand whether setting later age limits, tighter supervision or other safeguards around first phone ownership could reduce risk.