Contemporary screen use and symptoms of muscle dysmorphia among a national sample of Canadian adolescents and young adults

Abstract

Purpose: Screen time has been previously linked to body dissatisfaction and eating disorder behaviors. However, less is known about whether use of common forms of screen technology is associated with symptoms of muscle dysmorphia (MD), which was the aim of this study. Methods: Data from the Canadian Study of Adolescent Health Behaviors (N = 2538) were analyzed. Associations between hours of use of six contemporary forms of recreational screen time, as well as total screen time, and symptoms of MD were determined using multiple linear regression models, stratified by gender, and adjusting for potential confounders. Results: Among both men and women, greater total screen time and texting were associated with greater symptoms of MD; however, differences emerged across the screen time modalities by gender. Among women, video chatting was most strongly associated with symptoms of MD, while social media use was most strongly associated with symptoms of MD among men. Conclusion: Findings add to the growing literature documenting the potentially harmful correlates of screen time by including MD symptomatology. Findings have important implications for health care, public health, and policymaking professionals. Level of evidence: Level V, cross-sectional descriptive study.