ArticleItalian journal of pediatrics2022
The use of TikTok among children and adolescents with Eating Disorders: experience in a third-level public Italian center during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.
Article in Italian journal of pediatrics, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Scrolling through adolescence: a systematic review of the impact of TikTok on adolescent mental health.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2025Pooled it
- TikTok and Eating Disorders: A Narrative Review.The International journal of eating disorders · 2026Review
- Tick-Tock, the Time Has Come: Leveraging TikTok to Understand, Prevent, and Treat Eating Disorders.The International journal of eating disorders · 2026Review
- Taming the endless scroll? Short-form videos, digital routines and neurocognitive outcomes in youth : a systematic literature review.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2026Review
- Observational
- Factors that affect clinical youth engagement in digital mental health research: a qualitative sub-study nested within a prospective cohort study.BMC medical research methodology · 2025Observational
- Association Between TikTok Use and Anxiety, Depression, and Sleepiness Among Adolescents: A Cross-Sectional Study in Greece.Pediatric reports · 2025Article
- Aesthetic evaluation of body movements shaped by embodied and arts experience: Insights from behaviour and fNIRS.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- The Association of Social Media Use and Eating Behaviour of Belgian Adolescent Girls Diagnosed with Anorexia Nervosa-A Qualitative Approach.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Social media use among adolescents with eating disorders: a double-edged sword.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2024Article
- Year 2022: exploring COVID-19 pandemic in children.Italian journal of pediatrics · 2023Review
- Assessment of Accuracy, User Engagement, and Themes of Eating Disorder Content in Social Media Short Videos.JAMA network open · 2023Article
- Antipsychotics in the Treatment of Children and Adolescents with Anorexia Nervosa: A Systematic Review.Biomedicines · 2022Review
- Development and Initial Validation of a Brief Measure of TikTok Addiction in a Multi-Country Sample.Journal of primary care & community healthArticle
- The experience of treatment for eating disorders as told by content creators on TikTok.Eating disordersArticle
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5 authors.
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Abstract
backgroundRecent research has documented the potential associations existing between the use of social media (SM) and the occurrence/development and treatment of Eating Disorders (ED). However, the literature directly addressing the use of SM TikTok among children and adolescents with ED is still scarce.
methodsIn January-February 2021, during the second Italian national lockdown due to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, an anonymous paper survey was conducted in an Italian third-level center for ED in childhood and adolescence. Demographics, frequency of use of TikTok, frequently viewed topics and hashtags, experienced body-shaming, as well as the use of TikTok (active search, use of proposed contents) and perceived influences of this SM on eating attitudes and self-esteem were assessed. Groups of patients with different perceived SM-induced effects were compared to determine the frequency of their interaction with 3 specific contents (diet, Pro-Anorexia Nervosa (pro-Ana) and pro-ED recovery).
resultsSeventy-eight patients (93.6% females, mean age 14.5 ± 2.1 years) were enrolled in the study. For 62.8%, TikTok represented the main SM, used for 1.4 ± 1.0 h/day, with diet (21.8%) as the most frequently used topic category. Pro-Ana and pro-ED recovery contents ("#foryou" and "#edrecovery" as the most frequent, respectively) were both actively searched by patients and proposed by the SM in a significant number of cases. For 59.0%, using TikTok reduced self-esteem, while 26.9% reported TikTok-related significant changes in their daily lives, and 3.8% reported experiences of body-shaming. Patients describing a negative effect of TikTok on their self-esteem more frequently searched and browsed "diet" (p = 0.007) and pro-ED recovery (p = 0.007) contents. Positive qualitative feedback on the SM was also reported.
conclusionsThis study documents the use of the SM TikTok among children and adolescents with ED. Individuals with a perceived negative effect of this SM on their self-esteem may show greater interaction with specific content. Further studies are needed to investigate the psychopathological factors influencing the relationship between ED and the use of SM.
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