Calling out signs of addictive behavior around social media or binge eating
Susan Carnell, PhD, highlights the nuanced relationship between social media use and binge eating in adolescents, noting the importance of addressing addictive behaviors and seeking support when needed.
Susan Carnell, PhD, Associate Professor in the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, recently shared findings from her study examining social media’s impact on adolescent mental health, particularly binge eating behaviors. The study, published in Obesity, highlights the complex relationship between social media usage and disordered eating in youth.
In a previous interview with Contemporary Pediatrics, Carnell explained details of the study.
“The reason we did this study is because we were interested to understand more about the effects on social media,” Carnell said. “We were particularly interested in eating disorders because we know that there is potential for social media to impact mental health, but perhaps particularly eating disorders, because of the certain content to do with social comparison, which could lead to body dissatisfaction and disordered eating.”1
The study used data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study, analyzing both social media use and addictive behaviors associated with it. While time spent on social media increased with age—averaging 1 hour per day at ages 11 to 12 and exceeding 2 hours during adolescence—it was not directly linked to binge eating behaviors. However, “those who had high levels of these addictive behaviors around social media at baseline were about 3.5 times more likely than those who had no addictive behaviors to develop binge eating by 14 to 15,” Carnell noted.1
She said in another interview that "I think our results suggest that there are some children who may be particularly vulnerable to the addictive nature of social media, which is kind of designed to make us want to keep clicking, or perhaps to binge eating, or perhaps to a third factor which could influence both, like anxiety or depression, which could lead to both of these behaviors."2
Click here to view this video interview.2
In the video above, Carnell emphasized the challenges of addressing these behaviors, particularly for families. “As a parent myself, I understand that these behaviors are challenging. And the world has changed. Social media is out there. So I do think that probably is also a role for kind of regulation on a broader scale. I wouldn’t want to make families feel that it’s all on them.”
She also highlighted important distinctions in her research. “We were looking at social media time. We were looking at addictive behaviors, but we weren’t really looking at social media content, or whether it was active participation or passive participation. So I think there can be a lot of nuance.”
For parents concerned about binge eating, Carnell recommended seeking professional help if children experience distressing binge episodes once a week for 3 months. “There’s good evidence for cognitive behavioral therapy with an interpersonal component that can help adolescents with binge eating.”
Carnell’s findings underscore the importance of addressing addictive social media behaviors and the need for further research to explore its nuanced effects on adolescent mental health.
References:
1. Fitch, J. Social media use and binge eating in early adolescence. Contemporary Pediatrics. January 6, 2025. Accessed January 17, 2025. https://www.contemporarypediatrics.com/view/social-media-use-and-binge-eating-in-early-adolescence
2. Fitch, J. Addictive behaviors surrounding social media could lead to binge eating. Contemporary Pediatrics. January 10, 2025. Accessed January 17, 2025. https://www.contemporarypediatrics.com/view/addictive-behaviors-surrounding-social-media-could-lead-to-binge-eating
