We know that social media is harmful to teens. In her own research, Meta found that Instagram worsens body image for one in three teenage girls, and Snapchat was sued several times for not doing enough to alleviate cyberbullying. Even former US surgeons have issued recommendations regarding the risks of social media use among young people. However, a new report shows that social media can have a positive impact on teenagers despite its harm.
A survey conducted by the Pew Research Center found that 74% of US teens say social media is making them feel connected to their friends.
When the US government attempts to pass laws aimed at changing the teenage experience online, the data shows that social media is having a positive impact on some teens.
A possible explanation for this data is that teens feel more free to express themselves online than at school or at home.
One study conducted by the Trevor project showed that 53% of young LGBTQ people of color felt safe and understood in Tiktok, followed by Discord (43%) and Instagram (41%). These online communities contribute to positive mental health outcomes. The same respondents were 20% less likely to have attempted suicide the previous year if they reported being safe in the online sector.
Pew’s own study found that 34% of teenagers may access information about their mental health on social media, and 63% say finding such information is an important way to do it.
These statistics don’t tell us whether the information teens find about mental health is accurate or useful, but they are useful data in a time when only 52% of teens said they felt very comfortable talking to their parents about their mental health on a pue basis.
This does not mean that social media is free of drawbacks, and Pew’s research also documented these pitfalls. However, teens are more interested in the negative impact on their social media peers than they are. 48% of teens said social media had a negative impact on their age, but only 14% believe social media personally has a negative impact.
Again, these self-reported statistics do not always speak to the whole. Teens say that social media is more likely to help their friendship than hurting their friendship, but social media hurts sleep (45%) and productivity (40%).
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