NextGen Day

Studying social media sites helps us understand the difficulties teen girls confront more clearly.

According to a study that examines social media as a key aspect of American girlhood, nearly half of the adolescent girls who use TikTok feel addicted to it or use the platform for longer than they want.

Researchers from Brown University and the group Common Sense Media found that girls who use TikTok log more than 2.5 hours a day, giving it the top spot for overall time spent on the site. But, Instagram comes in at 92 minutes, Snapchat and messaging apps at around two hours, and YouTube is only a little behind at almost 2.5 hours. Girls between the ages of 11 and 15 who were polled frequently use numerous platforms.

While the majority of females said that social media has beneficial effects on their generation, nearly one-fourth of those who use TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat says that it makes them feel pressured to always present their best selves.

Girls with moderate to severe depressive symptoms were among those who were most susceptible to the negative effects of social media and were more inclined to believe their lives would be better off without it. With TikTok, 68 percent reported feeling addicted or using it more than planned, compared to 33 percent of females without depressive symptoms. They also utilized social media “nearly continuously.”

Also, Jacqueline Nesi, co-author and assistant professor of psychiatry at Brown University noted that 75% of girls with moderate to severe depressive symptoms who use Instagram said they come across content pertaining to suicide at least monthly. Similarly to this, 64% of Snapchat users and 69% of TikTok users experienced the same problem.

She noted that a sizeable percentage of those girls were already having difficulties when they discovered the damaging material online.

According to the study, girls who experienced moderate to severe depression symptoms were also more likely to find beneficial mental health resources on the platforms.

The American Girlhood Problem

Interestingly, perhaps, more female users of social media platforms reported feeling positive or accepting of their bodies than unhappy with them, according to the study. Yet, almost one in three Instagram and TikTok users reported having at least weekly body-image issues. It was a whopping 28% for Snapchat.

While the nation continues to debate the impact of social media on adolescent mental health, the study’s authors stated that they aimed to put girls’ perspectives “front and center.” The nearly 1,400 girls who took part were demographically typical of Americans. The writers primarily focused on how girls themselves view social media and their experiences; they did not investigate if social media is a factor in the decline of mental health.

Although student well-being has fallen starting before the coronavirus epidemic, the debate over the role of social media in the national youth mental health problem has recently gone into the courts. A growing number of school systems have filed lawsuits in this regard.

In a report released in February by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, researchers highlighted data that indicated teenage females are subject to a wave of violence, trauma, and grief.

According to the new study, which was announced on Thursday, 98 percent of females had utilized social media, with 85 percent using YouTube and 73 percent using TikTok. Nearly 60% of them were using messaging services like WhatsApp, iMessage, GroupMe, and Snapchat.

Supreet Mann, director of research at Common Sense Media, an organization that promotes the safety of children in the digital age, stated that “we discovered that one platform was not that much worse or better than the others.”

The advantages of social media for girls included amusement, self-expression, social connection, advocacy, and knowledge access. Girls of color and Hispanic women are more likely than other women to utilize Instagram and YouTube regularly for advocacy.

The drawbacks: A few people got unwelcome attention from strangers. Around one in four girls claimed that TikTok regularly disturbs their sleep. Girls were also kept awake by other platforms: 21% of Snapchat users, 18% of Instagram users, 16% of YouTube users, and those who use messaging apps.

Another burden was the need to reply to friends straight away, or “availability stress,” which occurred more frequently on messaging services like Snapchat.

The report revealed that girls’ experiences varied widely.

One in five girls claimed to focus excessively on views, likes, shares, and follows on a daily basis, however, a lot more claimed to do so less regularly.

Girls who experienced social difficulties offline—such as being excluded or bullied frequently—were three to four times as likely than their peers to report having poor online experiences. They were also more likely to share pleasant experiences online, which is only one of a number of interesting findings.

On TikTok and Instagram, seven out of ten girls of color reported coming across racial-affirming content at least monthly, while almost half also reported coming across racist content or language.

Adolescent girls are “engulfed” in trauma and violence, according to the CDC

Adolescents who identify as LGBTQ are twice as likely to hear hate speech than their classmates about their sexual orientation or gender. Also, they were more inclined to connect with people who shared their identities or interests.

One of the key conclusions, according to Mann, is that for vulnerable girls in particular, “the good and the bad are accentuated,” and I believe that’s particularly significant when you start to talk about protection.

We also looked at common social media features, with girls reporting more unfavorable opinions on location sharing and public accounts. They reported primarily good results from private chatting and video recommendations.

For reasons such as spending too much time on a platform, seeing harmful content, bullying, and worrying about their self-image or mental health, nearly 4 in 10 had sought to cease using social media or limit their time on it.

Virtually all young people had access to a smartphone with social media capabilities. By the age of 15, 97% had. But, even at age 11, 79% did.

More content tailored specifically for teenagers, age restrictions that prevent adults from following minors, and time limits for younger users is other ideas provided by the girls. Additional suggestions included making screening procedures simpler, enhancing privacy options, and blocking problematic users.

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