Peer-reviewed article
Parental awareness of adolescents' online activities and its association with eating behaviours in Canadian youth.
Rebeca Gonzalez Gonzalez, Justin J Lang, Claire N Tugault-Lafleur, Jean-Philippe Chaput ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examined whether parental awareness of adolescents' online activities is linked to disordered eating behaviours in Canadian youth. Using data from 8,919 youth aged 12-17 and their parents, researchers found that low or no parental awareness of online activities was associated with higher odds of wanting to be thinner and changing eating habits to manage weight. The findings suggest that parental awareness may help protect adolescents from social media's negative effects on body image and eating behaviours.
Key points
- Low or no parental awareness of adolescents' online activities was significantly associated with increased odds of desiring to be thinner in both boys and girls
- Low or no parental awareness was associated with higher odds of modifying eating habits to manage weight in both boys and girls
- The study used both parent-reported and youth-reported measures of parental awareness
- The sample was nationally representative of Canadian youth aged 12-17 years
- Authors suggest digital service providers could implement safety-by-design features enabling co-viewing and parental mediation of online content
Limitations
As a cross-sectional study, this research cannot establish causality—it shows association only, not whether parental awareness prevents disordered eating or whether youth with disordered eating behaviours simply hide their online activities more. The study measures awareness but does not evaluate specific parenting interventions or their effectiveness.
Abstract
PURPOSE: The high use of social media among youth poses a risk for disordered eating behaviours. Although parental involvement may play a protective role against the development of these behaviours, research to date has primarily focused on adolescent girls or relied on a single informant. This study examined whether lower parental awareness of adolescents' online activities is associated with higher odds of disordered eating behaviours, using both parent- and youth-reported measures of parental awareness. METHODS: Data were drawn from the 2023 Canadian Health Survey on Children and Youth (CHSCY), a cross-sectional and nationally representative survey. The sample included youth aged 12 to 17 years and their parent or the person most knowledgeable. Logistic regression analyses examined the associations between parental awareness of adolescents' online activities and three disordered eating indicators experienced by youth in the past 12 months: desire to be thinner, vomiting to lose weight, and changes in eating habits to manage weight. RESULTS: The final sample included 8919 youth. Low or no parental awareness of adolescents' online activities was significantly associated with increased odds of desiring to be thinner and modifying eating habits to manage weight in both boys and girls, compared to youth whose parents reported always being aware. DISCUSSION: The adverse effects of social media on body dissatisfaction may be mitigated through a combination of interventions and parental awareness. Digital service providers could explore a safety-by-design approach that enables parental shared oversight through features that facilitate co-viewing and mediation of online content.