In recent years, there has been an increase in collective concern about youth, adolescents, and digital media. In 2023, US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy called for warning labels on social media amidst concerns about its effects on young people’s mental health. High profile scholars have similarly raised the alarm (e.g., Jean Twenge, Jonathan Haidt); meanwhile, others have contested the evidence upon which these purported harms are premised and drawn attention to the various benefits of social media for young people. Governments around the globe are responding to collective concern and parental anxiety by introducing restrictions and bans on young people’s access to social media. The voices and perspectives of young people are largely absent from these public debates.
The topic has been, and continues to be, vigorously debated throughout the developed world amongst politicians, scholars, and public commentators, leading to the introduction of legislation to limit or prohibit access to social media for young people. For example, in 2024, Australia announced a social media ban for children under 16, and several other countries throughout the European Union have announced various social media age restrictions. Many opponents of the ban highlight that these restrictions do not fully recognize the various benefits and opportunities of digital and social media for young people and are not consistent with young people’s rights, including their right contribute to decisions which affect them in relation to the digital environment, as set out in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (General Comment 25).
The evidence around the harms of social media to young people remain contested, and the voices of young people are largely absent from the debate, highlighting a need for more research in this area to inform effective policy and regulation.
We invite original research manuscripts and commentaries on the topic. Comments/commentaries do not need special permission for submission to this Collection. Possible topics of focus may include but are not limited to:
- The digital practices of youth, including LGBTQIA+ and marginalized youth
- Digital media literacy and education
- Youth leadership through digital media
- Parenting in the digital age
- Digital divide and digital exclusion
- Policy, regulation and legislation affecting young people’s digital and social media use
- Youth civic engagement via digital media, and trans-national youth networks mobilizing in relation to human rights, climate crises, and other global events
- Youth digital content creation
- Adolescent growth and development and social/digital media
- Online safety
- Opportunities and benefits of digital media for youth
- Youth wellbeing in the digital age
- Media panics and narratives of risk
- Young people’s rights and agency in digital environments
