CNN
A new report details the role social media plays in the lives of young people, and how they manage the various pros and cons — including in the context of being a person of color or LGBTQ+, or having depression.
Those benefits and drawbacks include valuing online platforms for social connection, self-expression and information, while also feeling the brunt of social media’s effects on their attention span, confidence and contentedness, according to the report released Tuesday by Common Sense Media and Hopelab, a social innovation lab and impact investor aiming to support the well-being of young people.
“Most conversations and headlines surrounding social media and youth mental (health) focus solely on the harms, portraying young people as passive consumers. This research shows that it’s much more complex,” said Amy Green, head of research at Hopelab, in a news release. “If we truly want to improve the well-being of young people, we need to listen to their experiences and ensure that we do not inadvertently remove access to crucial positive benefits.”
Also driving the research is the national youth mental health crisis, the authors said, marked by increasing rates of mental disorders, such as anxiety and depression, suicidal thoughts and attempts, and antidepressant medications prescribed to youth. In conversations about these phenomena, social media has consistently been at the center, though mental health issues can have multiple contributing factors.
