Researchers, legislators, therapists and concerned parents for years have been voicing alarm about the effects of social media on teenage girls. But how do girls themselves feel about social media? It’s mostly thumbs up.
More than 80% of adolescent girls surveyed by Common Sense Media said that social media has a positive or neutral impact on themselves and their peers, according to a report the Bay Area-based nonprofit released today.
A majority said it connects them with friends, helps them find community and exposes them to positive messages about racial and sexual identity. It even helps them find mental health resources and information.
“It’s very encouraging from a policy standpoint,” said Supreet Mann, director of research at Common Sense Media, which evaluates the effectiveness of educational technologies. “While some features of social media can have negative impacts, there are a lot of positive outcomes, as well. It’s not universally bad.”
Researchers surveyed 1,400 girls ages 11 to 15 about their social media habits and their perceptions of various platforms and features. The girls represented a mix of races, incomes and sexual and gender identities.
While the majority said they like social media in general, there were significant differences between platforms and features. YouTube and message apps like WhatsApp had far more positive effects than TikTok and Instagram, for example. And while features such as location sharing and appearance filters had negative impacts, video sharing and private messaging were overwhelmingly positive or neutral.
Siurave Quintanilla Vasquez, a senior at Fremont High in Oakland, said she once struggled with social media, spending too much time scrolling and even developing an eating disorder due to the…
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