# Associations between time spent with digital media and body image among European adolescents

## TL;DR

More time spent on digital media, especially smartphones and the internet, is linked to worse body image in European teens, with family environment playing a role.

## Contribution

This study provides new insights into how digital media use affects body image dissatisfaction across nine European countries.

## Key findings

- Higher smartphone and internet use is associated with increased body image dissatisfaction.
- A positive family environment can reduce the negative impact of digital media on body image.
- Associations are stronger in underweight, normal weight, and female adolescents.

## Abstract

External factors, including digital media (DM), promote body ideals that can shape adolescents’ body image, but studies across European countries are scarce. Therefore, the aim of the study was to examine the relationship between daily DM duration and body image dissatisfaction (BID) in adolescents from nine European countries.

Participants from the I.Family study self-reported daily DM duration and BID in 2013/2014 (n = 3,608; 51% female; mean age 13.6 years (standard deviation: 1.1). DM duration was measured in hours/day, including television viewing (TV), computer/game console (PC), smartphone, and internet use. Linear regression models were used to examine associations of self-reported DM duration with BID and unstandardised regression coefficients were reported. Daily time spent with these technologies was categorised into < 1, 1–2, and ≥ 2 h, and underlying patterns of DM use were identified using latent class analyses. Furthermore, the interaction term between family environment and DM was included in the latent class analyses.

Increasing daily DM duration, particularly for smartphone (adjusted β = 0.44, 95%CI: 0.31, 0.57) and internet (adjusted β = 0.40, 95%CI: 0.29, 0.50), was associated with higher BID in all adolescents. Associations were more pronounced in underweight, normal weight, and female participants. Adolescents with high internet and smartphone duration in combination with medium/low TV/PC duration showed higher positive associations with BID score compared to those with low duration of all DM types (adjusted β = 1.24, 95%CI: 0.73, 1.74). A positive family environment attenuated the association in adolescents with high internet/smartphone and medium/low TV/PC duration.

The results highlight a positive association between longer daily DM duration and BID in adolescents, especially for internet-enabled media. A positive family environment seems to play a role in this association and should be further investigated in future research. Additionally, understanding the potential mechanisms explaining these associations can inform future interventions promoting healthy body image in adolescents.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12887-026-06551-w.