Analysis of Social Media Use, Mental Health, and Gender Identity Among US Youths

Abstract

ImportanceMental health among children and adolescents is a critical public health issue, and transgender and gender nonbinary youths are at an even greater risk. Social media has been consistently associated with youth mental health, but little is known about how gender identity interacts with this association.ObjectiveTo use a risk and resilience approach to examine the association between social media use and mental health among transgender, gender nonbinary, and cisgender youths.Design, Setting, and ParticipantsThis cross-sectional study analyzed data collected from an online survey between May and August 2021. Participants included a random sample of US youths; eligibility requirements included being aged 10 to 17 years and residing in the US. Statistical analysis was performed from February to April 2022.Main Outcomes and MeasuresSocial media use (time, type of use, favorite site, social comparisons, mindfulness, taking intentional breaks, cleaning and curating feeds, problematic use, and media literacy programs at their school) and mental health (depression, emotional problems, conduct problems, and body image) as main outcomes.ResultsParticipants included 1231 youths aged 10 to 17 years from a national quota sample from the United States; 675 (54.8%) identified as cisgender female, 479 (38.9%) as cisgender male, and 77 (6.3%) as transgender, gender nonbinary, or other; 4 (0.3%) identified as American Indian or Alaska Native, 111 (9.0%) as Asian, 185 (15.0%) as Black, 186 (15.1%) as Hispanic or Latinx, 1 (0.1%) as Pacific Islander, 703 (57.1%) as White, and 41 (3.3%) as mixed and/or another race or ethnicity. Gender identity moderated both the strength and the direction of multiple associations between social media practices and mental health: active social media use (eg, emotional problems: B = 1.82; 95% CI, 0.16 to 3.49; P = .03), cleaning and/or curating social media feeds (eg, depression: B = −0.91; 95% CI, −1.98 to −0.09; P = .03), and taking intentional breaks (eg, depression: B = 1.03; 95% CI, 0.14 to 1.92; P = .02).Conclusions and RelevanceIn this cross-sectional study of gender identity, social media, and mental health, gender identity was associated with youths’ experiences of social media in ways that may have distinct implications for mental health. These results suggest that research about social media effects on youths should attend to gender identity; directing children and adolescents to spend less time on social media may backfire for those transgender and gender nonbinary youths who are intentional about creating safe spaces on social media that may not exist in their offline world.

Exploring How Youth Use TikTok for Mental Health Information in British Columbia: Semistructured Interview Study With Youth

“…Online communities can particularly benefit those who experience greater barriers accessing supports and services (e.g., rural and remote communities, marginalized groups), experience social anxiety, or are concerned about being stigmatized [34,35]. For instance, research suggests that people who identify as LGBTQ2S+ experience greater mental health benefits from active social media use compared to cisgendered people as it provides them an outlet for self-expression and access to social support they may not have access to offline [36,37]. Participants from our study mainly identified as LGBTQ2S+ (57%) and also expressed how TikTok helped them find communities they could relate to.…”

“…Additionally, our findings represent the experiences of youth who mainly identified as white and women. Having a more ethnic-and gender-diverse sample could have provided further insights on youths' use of TikTok for mental health information as minority populations experience different access to mental health care and support compared to white, cis-gendered individuals [36,37].…”

Critical race theory in human development and family science

“…Researchers in the social sciences are increasingly conducting focus groups, not for data collection but rather data clarification, where they co-interpret results with those having lived experience. These insider perspectives provide possible explanations for results not previously thought of and give greater direction, clarity, and insight to researchers and empower respondents (see Coyne et al, 2023;Dodson et al, 2007;Weinstein & James, 2022). Focus groups can be done with all racial groups but should especially be considered when researchers have a different racial identity than participants.…”

The Impact of Social Media Information Literacy on Malaysian Youth’s Emotional Intelligence

“…Eskandari et al (2020), discovered that social support (r=0.84, P<0.0001), media literacy (r=0.698, P<0.0001), and emotional intelligence (r=0.798, P<0.0001) were all significantly correlated with network addiction virtual social. Meanwhile, mental health among children and adolescents is a critical public health issue which adolescents are at greater risk (Coyne et al, 2023); and social media are consistently linked to adolescent mental health (Anthonysamy et al, 2022).…”