New analysis from The College of Texas at Arlington reveals that social media platforms can play a doubtlessly life-saving position for younger individuals navigating troublesome circumstances at residence.
UT Arlington social work assistant professor Morgan PettyJohn led a examine that discovered that many younger adults who skilled youngster abuse and neglect relied on social media to deal with trauma, entry data and join with others.
“There’s a lot being talked about proper now with youth and social media, and it is largely being talked about in a really unfavourable mild,” stated Dr. PettyJohn, whose examine was printed within the Journal of Household Violence. “However there are various advantages that children are utilizing these websites for too—for information-seeking, for connecting, for offering mutual help to 1 one other.”
For the examine, the analysis staff first surveyed 641 younger adults aged 18 to 21 throughout the US. Roughly 30%—196 individuals—reported experiencing youngster maltreatment. Greater than half of that group—111 people—responded that that they had posted or mentioned their experiences with abuse or neglect on a social media platform, with most of those disclosures occurring on platforms that permit for personal or direct messaging with different customers.
The analysis staff then performed in-depth interviews with 23 of these people. Most of them stated that previous to disclosing their very own previous experiences with abuse or neglect on social media platforms, they discovered that social media content material helped them acknowledge that their experiences weren’t regular—and motivated them to hunt help.
“I used to be born into (the abuse), proper? So this was my regular, this was my on a regular basis,” one participant defined. “The one indication that I had that one thing wasn’t proper was my emotions. And the extra that I began to become old, the extra that I began to listen to different individuals’s experiences.
“I went, ‘Oh, one thing about this that I grew up with, I do not assume that is regular.’ And I really feel like (social media channels) helped me form of perceive that somewhat bit higher as a result of that was the toughest half for me, to understand that this wasn’t regular.”
Digital areas offered individuals with a way of security, permitting them to attach with others who had endured comparable experiences. One participant described their on-line group as individuals “who make us really feel pleased and heard and engaged.” One other stated these connections with others had been “so deep in serving to me that if I could not speak to them anymore, I in all probability wouldn’t have made it out.”
The analysis additionally highlighted the sensible causes younger adults flip to social platforms. Social media is usually extra accessible than in-person providers as a consequence of value, comfort, and authorized restrictions on what assets younger individuals can entry with out parental involvement.
Many individuals additionally valued the power to stay nameless when opening up about traumatic experiences. Necessary reporting necessities had been often cited as a motive some selected to not search in-person assist akin to college counselors, fearing the lack of management over what would occur subsequent.
“They really feel extra comfy speaking about laborious issues via their gadgets, and so they need the choice for anonymity,” PettyJohn stated.
The examine’s findings present a extra nuanced take a look at social media going ahead. As a substitute of focusing solely on how a lot time younger individuals spend on-line, extra consideration needs to be given to how younger individuals are utilizing digital areas, PettyJohn stated.
“We’re not saying there are not any dangers as a result of there definitely are,” she stated. “However our analysis exhibits that as an alternative of merely discouraging social media use, we have to assume extra about how on-line areas may be designed to be protected and applicable for youth to make use of.”
Extra data:
Morgan E. PettyJohn et al, “It was an Outlet After I Wanted it”: Exploring Youth Motivations and Experiences Disclosing Baby Maltreatment on Social Media, Journal of Household Violence (2025). DOI: 10.1007/s10896-025-00917-x
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How social media might help abuse survivors heal (2025, July 21)
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