These days, scrolling through your phone while sitting on the toilet has become a nearly universal habit. Whether you’re catching up on messages, watching videos, reading the news, or just passing the time, the bathroom ritual often doubles as a digital break, as the toilet becomes a mini escape from the world. On the surface, it feels harmless – a few extra minutes here and there. But emerging research suggests this convenience could carry hidden risks to health – especially in the digestive, anal, and pelvic areas.
A new study published in PLOS One by researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston found that adults who use smartphones on the toilet have a 46% higher risk of hemorrhoids than those who don’t. Why? Because using a phone tends to prolong the time spent on the toilet, it increases pressure in the rectal veins. That alone may explain much of the risk. What drives this risk? Mainly, increased time sitting on the toilet (especially more than 5 minutes per visit), more pressure on anal and rectal veins, reduced physical activity, and distraction leading to poor habits.
But that’s just one of several problems being connected to this modern bathroom behaviour. From infections to pelvic damage, posture issues to digestive trouble, using your phone during bathroom visits might be doing more harm than you think.
In this article, we explore seven specific health conditions or risks linked with phone use on the toilet. We discuss what recent studies show, how each condition develops, and simple changes you can make to avoid becoming vulnerable. Even if you don’t bring your phone into the bathroom, some of these risks apply to prolonged sitting. Learning these can help you make smarter choices about when and how to use your phone — especially in your most private moments.
The following are several health conditions that are (or may be) linked to this particular bathroom habit, how the phone-on-toilet behavior contributes, and what you can do to reduce the risk.
