Social Media and Youth Mental Health

Although the near ubiquity of social media in modern society has raised important questions about its potentially detrimental impacts on youth, discussions often center on its individual effects, largely on risks, prioritizing adult perspectives over young peoples lived experience. Social Media and Youth Mental Health offers a broader, multi-generational perspective.

Examining the influence of social media on children and young people from many different yet interconnected angles, the book draws from the expertise of 41 scholars and clinicians around the world. It explores more than a dozen different aspects of social media as they pertain to youth mental health, including:

• Representations of sexuality in social media
• Diversity, bullying, and hateful speech on online platforms
• Online privacy
• The role of agency in media use and mental health
• The effect of media multitasking on developing brains
• The impact of social media on racial, gender, sexual, and class identities
• The relationship between social media and self-harm and suicide

In addition to discussing the valid concerns about the influence of social media on youth mental health, this book explores the potentially positive role that social media can play in clinical applications, devoting a chapter to its possible use both as a method for disseminating psychoeducation and as a component of digital intervention.

Importantly, Social Media and Youth Mental Health incorporates the voices and perspectives of children and adolescents themselves—too often excluded from the public discourse—throughout the book and in a special chapter that examines the agency and experiences of the young people at the center of the public discussion.

Pragmatic and rich in detailed, evidence-based information, this guide offers a foundational framework from which policymakers, industry leaders, mental health professionals, and researchers can develop a shared understanding of the issues complexities and promote the urgent need for a new phase of innovation and design that prioritizes health and well-being.