This review looks at current trends in the effect of social media use on mental health, identity development, and civic engagement for LGBTQ + youth during the post-pandemic period, when online engagement has significantly increased. It explores both risks and benefits associated with this shift and offers recommendations for clinicians and future research in this evolving landscape.
There is an intricate relationship between the harms and benefits of social media use and developing adolescents. While some research suggests that social media use and overuse is associated with negative outcomes such as depression and anxiety, many recent studies have found that, for LGBTQ+ youth in particular, social media may be a necessary safe space they have for representation and community building, especially when absent in their physical world. It is important to look at the nuances behind social media use motivations and adolescents’ intersectional identities when understanding and developing personalized interventions for mental health.
This review looks at how LGBTQ+ youth have used social media since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic to increase their own agency and build community through developing their own safe spaces online. LGBTQ+ youth’s hidden and intersectional identities might isolate them within their home and community environments, which must be considered when thinking about controlling adolescent social media use. Ongoing research should look into the relationship between social media use and LGBTQ+ adolescent mental health at a more granular level, rather than just LGBTQ+ vs. heterosexual peers, to further tailored interventions.
