Instagram, TikTok and other social media have become daily fixtures in the lives of children and young people around the world, with 59% of young people surveyed by Amnesty International now spending more than two hours of their average day on social media. Yet research on young people’s experiences on social media remains overwhelmingly focused on North America, Europe and Australia. Amnesty International collected responses from 550 children and young people between the ages of 13 and 24 across 45 countries to better understand their lived experiences, concerns and attitudes towards social media. Amidst praise for the diversity of ideas, users’ creativity and opportunities for activism that young people find on social media, two major concerns stand out: the toll harmful content and what many young participants describe as “addictive” platform design take on young people’s mental health and their feeling of powerlessness in the face of global companies’ constant nudging to participate in a vicious cycle of personal data sharing and content consumption.
‘“We are totally exposed”: Young people share concerns about social media’s impact on privacy and mental health in global survey‘, Amnesty International
