Research suggests that children who receive their first smartphone at age 12 are more likely to exhibit eating-disorder symptoms by age 14, raising concerns about the timing of device introduction and online influences on body image.
Parents handing a 12-year-old a first smartphone are often focused on the obvious benefits: staying in touch, checking a child has arrived safely and making practical family life easier. But a new study suggests that the age at which children get their own device may also shape how they think about their bodies and their eating habits later on. According to research published in JAMA Network Open, adolescents who owned smartphones at age 12 were more likely to report eating-disorder symptoms by age 14 than those without personal phones.
The study tracked nearly 9,000 American adolescents through the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study, a large federal project following children’s development over time. Among 12-year-olds who already had smartphones, 24% reported at least one eating-disorder symptom two years later. The same research found that phone owners were twice as likely to say their self-worth was tied to their weight, and about 1.5 times more likely to report weight-control behaviours such as restricting calories or exercising excessively.
The findings do not show that smartphones cause eating disorders, but they do point to a meaningful association between early ownership and later symptoms. That distinction matters, because the study measured self-reported symptoms and disordered-eating behaviours, not clinical diagnoses. As researchers and clinicians often note, disordered eating can include preoccupation with weight or shape, strict food rules and unhealthy attempts to control body size, while a formal diagnosis requires a medical assessment and specific criteria.
The research also fits a wider concern about how social media and appearance-focused content affect young people. Children who begin using a personal smartphone are not just gaining a screen; they are gaining constant access to private accounts, algorithm-driven feeds and a steady stream of edited images that can intensify comparison. Earlier work has linked screen exposure with poorer self-esteem and depressive symptoms, and the new study suggests that the shift from shared device use to individual ownership may be an important moment in that process.
For parents, the practical takeaway is not that every smartphone is harmful, but that timing and supervision may matter. The study cannot say which content has the biggest effect, whether the association continues beyond early adolescence or how much parental oversight changes the risk. Even so, the results add to a growing body of evidence that families may want to think carefully about when a child gets a phone, what settings are in place and how much of the online world is opened up at once.
Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical judgment, advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
