We learned that social media remains a double-edged sword for young people, with both benefits and costs when it comes to supporting their mental health and well-being. Many young people turn to these digital technologies to find emotional support, to connect with friends and family, to learn about ways to support their own mental health and well-being, to build community where one may be hard to find locally, and to just decompress by having fun. But at the same time, they experience stressful content and must actively take steps to manage their exposure to it, including taking temporary and permanent breaks from certain platforms. And young people from communities of color, the LGBTQ+ spectrum, and those who already have symptoms of moderate to severe depression have both the most to gain and the most to lose from social media. It's comforting to learn that many young people are actively curating their social media feeds to see more of what helps—and less of what doesn't. But they still acknowledge that they cannot always control their online experiences as well as they would like. We need more research and public understanding of the specific challenges that groups like youth with depressive symptoms and LGBTQ+ young people face associated with social media, and more public education for families, schools, teens, and beyond about how to manage the challenges that social media presents without diminishing the positive benefits. But we also need action from companies and legislators to ensure that social media companies design these platforms with the well-being of all youth in mind.

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