Sexual Minorities and Loneliness: Exploring Sexuality through Social Media and Gender–Sexuality Alliance (GSA) Supports

Abstract

We examined online and offline social supports for sexual minority adolescents, underscoring the understudied developmental period of early adolescence and the mental outcome of loneliness. Stemming from a larger study in the northeast U.S., 967 youth participants were 26% sexual minority, 53% female, 45% male, and 2% other/nonbinary (mean age = 13.1, SD = 1.52). LGBTQ+ youth reported significantly higher levels of loneliness compared to their heterosexual counterparts. To understand potential sources of social support while exploring their sexual identities, we compared the experiences of LGBTQ+ youth at both ends of the loneliness spectrum. Gaining knowledge about their sexual orientation from LGBTQ+ organization websites, participating in gender–sexuality alliances, and using TikTok or Instagram were associated with lower levels of loneliness. Providing social support to online friends was associated with lower loneliness; however, receiving online support was not associated with lower loneliness. Furthermore, proactive social media engagement such as posting uplifting content, joining online communities, or raising awareness about social issues were associated with lower levels of loneliness. The results provide guidance on specific youth behaviors and online communities beyond a focus on screen time while highlighting the continued need for social support to ameliorate loneliness, such as gender–sexuality alliance networks.

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].…”