We learned that social media remains a double-edged sword for young people, with both benefits and costs when it comes to supporting their mental health and well-being. Many young people turn to these digital technologies to find emotional support, to connect with friends and family, to learn about ways to support their own mental health and well-being, to build community where one may be hard to find locally, and to just decompress by having fun.

But at the same time, they experience stressful content and must actively take steps to manage their exposure to it, including taking temporary and permanent breaks from certain platforms. And young people from communities of color, the LGBTQ+ spectrum, and those who already have symptoms of moderate to severe depression have both the most to gain and the most to lose from social media.

Madden, M., Calvin, A., & Hasse, A. (2024, May 21). A Double-Edged Sword: How Diverse Communities of Young People Think About the Multifaceted Relationship Between Social Media and Mental Health. Common Sense Media. https://www.commonsensemedia.org/research/double-edged-sword-how-diverse-communities-of-young-people-think-about-social-media-and-mental-health