20 April 2024 , 18:47
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One in six teenagers have been bullied online over their weight, reveals new research.
And the figure was even higher among those on social media with almost seven out of 10 X users reporting being cyberbullied about their body, according to the study. Twitch was the second highest social media platform linked to weight-related bullying, suggest the findings published in the journal PLoS One.
The international sample of more than 12,000 10 to 17-year-olds - from Britain, the United States, Australia, Canada, Chile, and Mexico - showed that almost 17 per cent of adolescents had suffered weight-related bullying online. Each additional hour of social media use equated to a 13 per cent increase in weight-related bullying, according to the research team.
The study, led by Dr Kyle Ganson, an Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto, Canada, also involved researchers from Cambridge University and the University of California, San Francisco, in the United States. Dr Ganson and his colleagues investigated weight-related cyberbullying among adolescents across different types of recreational screen time and more specifically, across six different social media platforms.
The participants provided the number of weekday hours they spent "watching YouTube," "on social media (messaging, posting, or liking posts)," "watching TV shows, series, or movies," "playing games on smartphones, computers, or game consoles," and "browsing, reading websites, googling, etc,". They also noted whether or not they used any of six different social media platforms: Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, Snapchat, and Twitch.
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In addition, they answered the question "Do you get teased or made fun of because of your weight?" Those surveyed spent an average of 7.5 hours total on recreational screen time every weekday. Almost 17 per cent also reported weight-related bullying sometimes, a lot, or all the time, with a 13 per cent increase in bullying reported for every additional hour of screen time reported.
Almost 70 per cent of Twitter users reported being bullied, while Twitch was the second-highest social media platform linked to weight-related bullying. The associations between screen time, social media use, and weight-related bullying were strongest for adolescents in Canada, Australia, and the UK, according to the findings.
Girls were more likely to experience weight-related bullying than boys when using Twitch or playing video games. The researchers say further research is needed to address the "growing" social issue. Dr Catrin Pedder Jones, a Cambridge University research associate, said: "Adolescents across six diverse countries who use social media are more likely to experience weight-related bullying victimisation. This experience can have adverse effects, including poor body image, disordered eating behaviours, and anxiety and depression symptoms."
She added: "There is a strong need to make social media and online spaces more accepting and safer for young people to engage in."