1、ii SOCiAL MEDiA, SOCiAL LiFE: TEENS REVEAL THEiR EXPERiENCES, 2018 monsense.org/social-media-social-life-2018Common Sense is the leading independent nonprofit organization dedicated to helping kids thrive in a world of media and technology. We empower parents, teachers, and policymakers by providing
2、 unbiased information, trusted advice, and innovative tools to help themharness the power of media and technology as a positive force in all kids monsense.orgFriends,What goes on in the minds of teenagers when they engage with social media, seemingly lost in their screens? Its a question we as paren
3、ts often ponder as we fret about the effects of social media on our childrens well-being.To find the answer, Common Sense went straight to the source and surveyed a nationally representative sample of 1,141 teens in the United States, age 13 to 17. What they told us is eye-opening and vastly more nu
4、anced than we expected.Im especially excited to share the results of our 2018 Social Media, Social Life survey with you. Considered alongside the findings from our 2012 survey of the same name, they offer a rare glimpse into our teens worlds. Fair warning: Many of the insights are likely to challeng
5、e some parents notions of whether social media is “good” or “bad” for teens.Like teenagers themselves, this research presents a complex picture that defies simplistic judgments. For example, on the one hand, teens feel social media strengthens their relationships with friends and family, provides th
6、em with an important avenue for self-expression, and makes them feel less lonely and more connected. At the same time, teens acknowledge that social media can detract from face-to-face communication and make them feel left out or “less than” their peers. In general, however, teens are more likely to
7、 say that social media has a positive effect on how they feel.That dichotomy is amplified when it comes to more vulnerable teens who score lower on a measure of social-emotional well-being. These teens are much more likely to report feeling bad about themselves when no one comments on their posts or
8、 feeling left out after seeing photos on social media of their friends together at something they werent invited to.Teens are often depicted as being heedless of the consequences of spending so much time on their smartphones. In reality, our survey reveals that teens are fully aware of the power of
9、devices to distract them from key priorities, such as homework, sleep, and time with friends and family.Nevertheless, teens are spending far more time on social media than ever before. The percentage of teens who engage with social media multiple times a day has gone from 34 percent in 2012 to 70 pe
10、rcent in 2018. And whereas Facebook once played a commanding role, with 68 percent of teens in 2012 turning to the platform as their main social media outlet, todays teens have moved on to newer platforms, especially Snapchat and Instagram.With the ever-shifting social media landscape, our research
11、has never been more critical. As new platforms emerge, our reviewers at Common Sense Media and Common Sense Education help keep parents and educators informed of the strengths and shortcomings of the latest crop of social media tools, giving us important information to guide our children toward the
12、best possible experience, as well as an understanding of what to watch out for. The insights containedin this report also fuel our advocacy efforts to minimize the harmful aspects of social media while promoting its potential to support our children and their connection to their communities.This is
13、why the Common Sense Research program exists: to inform and enrich conversations we have about kids use of media and its effects on their social and emotional well-being. Though the insights presented here havent been condensed into a 140-character summary or a 15-second video, I promise they will b
14、e well worth your time.James P. Steyer, founder and CEOA LETTER FROM OUR FOUNDERcommon sense is grateful for the generous support and underwriting that funded this research report:Jennifer Caldwell and John H.N. Fisher Eva and Bill PriceCarnegie Corporation of New York Craig Newmark PhilanthropiesAs
15、 someone who writes and talks about the importance of human connection,what do you think of the reports finding that teens today prefer texting over talking?My work is around humans humans thriving, humans connecting. And I worry so much about the reports findings of the lack of person-to-person con
16、tact. But in my work and in my experience I find that the need for human connection always wins out. Maybe kids are just taking the easy way out due to shyness, fear, or social awkwardness. We just need to make sure that we as parents, educators, and others who can impact kids lives encourage those
17、important face-to-face conversations.There has been an uptick in teens exposure to hate content since the last Social Media, Social Life research was released in 2012. How do you think that affects kids?I think when you see hate content over and over, you become anesthetized to it. It becomes a part
18、 of the “new norm” instead of the feeling you ought to have which is outrage and disgust. So I worry about todays teens ability to empathize. I think that means that as parents we need to be aware of and really talk to our kids and help them process what they are reading and seeing on social media.Y
19、ou have said that as a child you struggled with low self-esteem as a result of racism.The report found that social media plays a heightened role positive and negative in the lives of teens already struggling with social-emotional well-being. What advice would your teen self give to them?I began to h
20、eal as a black woman and love myself finally when I was able to be in a community with other folk who had experienced what I was experiencing. So to the extent you can use social media to connect with people struggling with the same issues as you, social media can be an incredibly powerful support n
21、etwork. I would urge my teen self to find others online she could can relate to whether its racism, academic pressure, being bullied, sexism, or whatever.As youre an author and former Stanford University dean, many people seek your counsel about how to put ones best self forward. How can teens do th
22、is on social media?Social media is a new method of connecting and communicating with humans. Think about what kind of character you want to cultivate on social media. Are you a kind and generous person? Do you help people? Behave on social media the way youd behave with your grandma at the dining ta
23、ble. Easier said than done, believe me, I know!You said using social media reminds you of a quote by the famous spiritual leader Ram Dass, who said, “Were all just walking each other home.”Yes, because I think social media is a wonderful way to demonstrate that you care, that you take an interest in
24、 someone. This is where the positive side of social media really comes in. You can see the healing power as we start to radiate kindness and goodness and gratitude through our tweets and posts. So I think theres tremendous power in this thing and its our job as grown-ups to teach our kids how to be
25、responsible citizens in this new realm.JULIE LYTHCOTT-HAIMS SAYS SOCIAL MEDIA HAS THE POWER TO CONNECT AND HEALJulie Lythcott-Haims New York Times best-sellingauthor, educator, and Common Sense board memberSOCiAL MEDiA, SOCiAL LiFE: TEENS REVEAL THEiR EXPERiENCES, 2018COMMON SENSE MEDiA iNC. 2018. A
26、LL RiGHTS RESERVED.When I was 15 years old, I was the victim of a vicious cyberbullying attack. That Halloween, a girl whom I had never met dressed up as me for Halloween and posted a picture onFacebook that went viral. Suddenly, I received hundreds, and then thousands, of cyberbullying messages. My
27、 classmates and even people I had never met told me to kill myself and that my life was worth nothing.I was devastated. I felt like the entire world was against me. I didnt know where to find hope.In an effort to heal, I wrote a book about my experiences titled The Survival Guide to Bullying. My boo
28、k was published in 18 countries around the world and became a best-seller. I went on tour and spoke to students, teachers, and parents around the country and learned more than I could ever have imagined about social media and the way young people use it.Very quickly, I went from demonizing social me
29、dia to realizing the power and possibility it inhabits. Here is the truth: Social media is social currency for young people. It is a portal to potential and possibilities, even for people who feel hopeless, uninspired, scared, and alone.When I was younger, I was enmeshed in the negativity social med
30、ia can create, but today I witness tremendous positives. Many of my fans and followers have gone on to write books and create music, YouTube channels, and social justice movements purely from the power and possibility of social media and technology. This brings me great hope.As this report from Comm
31、on Sense shows, lots of negative things can happen on social media. Cyberbullying is still very real and deeply traumatic. I see the greatest opportunity for change to occur being when kids are very young perhaps in the first and second grades when behavioral patterns can be affected. It is crucial
32、for parents and teachers to have conversations about digital citizenship with children as soon as they start school.Today, when I speak to parents and educators, I urge them to recognize that social media is not going anywhere, and stopping your child from using social media is not the answer. My pa
33、rents did not allow me to use social media in middle school, so I made secret accounts. (Once again, social media is social currency for young people.)Parents and educators have the space and opportunity to have conversations with kids about social media, their behavior on it, and the pros and cons
34、of a digital footprint. Instead of being divided by technology, be on their side and show them you care, and they will reward you by being honest with you.SOCIAL MEDIA: START CONVERSATIONS WHEN KIDS ARE YOUNGAija MayrockAuthor, The Survival Guide to Bullying: Written by a Tmonsense.org/social-media-
35、social-life-2018SOCiAL MEDiA, SOCiAL LiFE: TEENS REVEAL THEiR EXPERiENCES, 2018“Is social media bad or good for kids mental health?” This is one of the most common questions that parents and educators ask the child psychologists and psychiatrists at the Child Mind Institute. The honest answers are “
36、both” and “it depends on the child.”Those answers are backed up by research, including the Common Sense Media surveys that inform this report and the academic literature described in the Child Mind Institutes 2018 Childrens Mental Health Report on anxiety in childhood and adolescence. While most you
37、th see social media as neutral, significant minorities believe that apps like Facebook and Instagram have either positive or negative effects.1When we look at how social media behaviors correlate to mental health symptoms, we see that more time spent using social media is tied to an increase in ment
38、al health symptoms.2 Eighth-graders who spend 10 or more hours a week on social media are 56 percent more likely to report being unhappy than those who spend less time.3 We also see that higher emotional investment in social media is strongly correlated with higher levels of anxiety.4 It remains unc
39、lear whether social media is causing negative outcomes or whether children with mental health issues are turning to social media to soothe their symptoms.It is troubling that youth at the highest risk are the ones who care the most about social networking and online communities. These are the childr
40、en who can be the most negatively affected by cyberbullying and who can become distraught over the expectations built into curating their online selves.But they are also the kids who benefit from finding communities to embrace them, from being able to interact freely and practice social skills in a
41、safe space online. It is fitting that the Common Sense Media survey finds large effects of social media on social-emotional well- being in making teens feel less lonely and more confident and that these effects are greatest in the at-risk youth for whom social media is very important. This is our ex
42、perience as mental health professionals, when children and adolescents are allowed to have developmentally appropriate, time-limited access to positive social media and online content.Children and teens seem very grown-up these days, competent with technology and image making. But they are still our
43、 children. They do not have a “right” to make themselves anxious or depressed through overexposure to social media and the toxic messages it can bring. If we do our job as parents and educators, we can steer at-risk children toward beneficial online experiences and help them reap the rewards of this
44、 new way of communicating.SOCIAL MEDIA AND MENTAL HEALTH: RISKS AND REWARDS1Anderson, M., their attitudes about social medias role in their lives; experiences they have on social media; and how social media makes them feel. As such, it offers a unique opportunity to observe changes in social media u
45、se over time, and to deepen our understanding of the role of social media in teens lives.Wave one of the study was conducted among a nationally repre- sentative sample of more than 1,000 13- to 17-year-olds in 2012, when Facebook ruled the social media landscape and the fact that half of teens check
46、ed their social media sites every day was extraordinary. Wave two (the focus of this report) was conducted in March and April of 2018, among a separate sample of 1,141 13- to 17-year-olds, and offers an up-to-date snapshot of social media use among todays teens.A lot can happen in six years. We thou
47、ght at the time of our first survey that social media had pervaded teenagers lives; but, as many of us have come to suspect and this study confirms, what we saw then was just the tip of the iceberg. Six years ago we wrote that Facebook “utterly dominates social networking among teens,” and 68 percen
48、t of all young people said it was their main social media site. Today, only 15 percent do. Six years ago, four out of 10 teens (41 percent) had their own smartphones; today nearly nine out of 10 (89 percent) do, meaning that social media can be accessed anytime and any place, allowing use to grow ex
49、ponentially. Six years ago, 34 percent of teens used social media more than once a day; today 70 percent do, including 16 percent who use it “almost constantly” and another 22 percent who use it several times an hour. Six years ago, about half (49 percent) of all teens still said their favorite way to communicate with friends was in person; today less than a third (3
