Examining the Role of the Digital World on Adolescent Health and Well-being: Evidence from EDC's MetroWest Adolescent Health Survey

• In Event: Let's get digital: Preparing youth for living in a post-human future

Proposal

The ubiquitous, and sometimes addictive nature of social media, gaming, and other forms of digital engagement have led to concerns about their impact on adolescents’ physical and emotional well-being. With 95% of teens having access to a smartphone, and 45% saying they are online “almost constantly” (Pew, 2018) there is a clear need to understand how online behavior, and in particular social media, impacts adolescent health. A recent US study showed a 53% increase in depressive symptoms among adolescents in the last decade, and an increase in suicidality among young adults (Twenge et al., 2019). These cohort effects, not seen in older adults, coincide with the emergence of social media and raise questions about how we can simultaneously prepare and protect youth in an increasingly digital world.

Beginning in 2006, EDC’s MetroWest Adolescent Health Survey has been administered biennially to over 40,000 youth with the goal of monitoring trends in adolescent health and risk behaviors. While social media use among adolescents was just emerging at that time, there were already concerns about the prevalence and impact of cyberbullying through email and texting. EDC realized that, in the rapidly changing digital world, it would be crucial to study teens’ online behavior in the context of their overall physical and emotional health. In 2011, EDC published one of the first studies linking cyberbullying with mental health, ranging from depressive symptoms to suicide attempts, and showing that the associations of cyberbullying and mental health were stronger than for school bullying alone. Additional research by EDC published in 2015 showed an increase in cyberbullying over a period of 8 years, particularly among girls, and disproportionate rates of cyberbullying victimization among sexual minority youth at all timepoints.

As social media use became more widespread, EDC began to assess quantity of social media use as well as related attitudes, both positive and negative. Our current research continues to focus on how social media use is associated with mental health problems and cyberbullying, as well as examining novel associations between social media and substance use, sleep, and negative school outcomes (like poor school attachment and lower academic performance). Our work also has explored the prevalence of gaming and associations with these behaviors. While we have often studied negative associations with online behaviors, arising from addiction, feelings of exclusion, and pressures to promote a perfect self-image, we have also examined positive aspects of social media use, including receiving support, widening social circles, and advocating for important causes. It is therefore critical to discuss how to obtain a balance where youth can use social media in prosocial ways, while not suffering the individual consequences.

The panel representation will focus on providing data on both the harmful and beneficial effects of social media use, and how online behaviors play a role in adolescent physical and mental health. As youth live in an increasingly digital world, we will discuss how to minimize the harmful effects while bolstering adolescents’ use of online communications to support their well-being and enhance their communities.

Author

• Shari Kessel Schneider, Education Development Center, Inc.