Senior Research Scientist at the Wellesley Centers for Women, Linda Charmaraman, Ph.D., and her team have been researching the possible effects of social media on the body image of teens. This video abstract — originally posted by the Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics — summarizes a journal article that was published in 2021. The study surveyed 11-14 year-olds and found that those who reported greater negative attitudes towards their body image checked their social media more frequently, found it harder to make new friends, and had higher rates of depressive symptoms and online social anxiety. Read more about Linda Charmaraman and her team’s research on this topic.

This video abstract was originally posted by the Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics.

March 25, 2021