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There are both good and bad sides to social media. And the LGBTQ+ community is sadly often the target of online hate. Yet, a recent report suggests that some social networks can have a positive impact on the mental health of members of this community.
There are both good and bad sides to social media. And the LGBTQ+ community is sadly often the target of online hate. Yet, a recent report suggests that some social networks can have a positive impact on the mental health of members of this community.
The findings of this research* by The Trevor Project may sound surprising. However, after surveying more than 28,000 young people aged 13 to 24 from the LGBTQ community in the US, the report reveals that TikTok is the "leading online space where the most LGBTQ young people of color reported feeling safe and understood," and that this experience could reduce the risk of suicide as well as lowering anxiety levels. "Feeling safe and understood in at least one online space is associated with lower suicide risk and lower rates of recent anxiety for all LGBTQ young people, and for LGBTQ young people of color in particular," the organization writes.
According to the report, young people from the LGBTQ community who reported feeling safe and understood in at least one online space were 20% less likely to attempt suicide in the past year, and 15% less likely to suffer from anxiety, than those who reported feeling unsafe online.
When it comes to people of color in the LGBTQ community, The Trevor Project's report showed similar percentages for the drop in suicide attempts, but even greater rates for the drop in anxiety, with 19% lower odds of experiencing the condition.
And it's on TikTok that young people of color from the LGBTQ community report the highest rates of feeling safe and understood, at 53% -- a higher percentage than for young white people (45%). Next comes Instagram, at 41% among young people of color and 38% among their white peers, then Twitter, for 21% and 20% respectively. "In our sample, over half (53%) of LGBTQ young people of color reported feeling safe and understood on TikTok, 42% on Discord, 41% on Instagram, and 33% on YouTube. Furthermore, LGBTQ young people of color who reported feeling safe and understood on TikTok were likely to also feel safe and understood on Discord, Instagram, or YouTube," the report states.
Data collected as part of an online survey conducted between September and December 2022 among 28,524 LGBTQ young people recruited via targeted ads on social media.*
