• rather than studying well-being exclusively through the lens of risk, its experts are curious about the complexity and nuance of children’s digital lives.
• adult assumptions are a poor substitute for faithful reporting of children’s lived experience
• committing to participatory design, the Center’s work puts young people front and centre. When young people are given the opportunity and support to participate, they can reflect on technology’s value and challenges, they are eloquent in describing their experiences, and they are enthusiastic co-creators of solutions.
• grounds young people’s online experiences within the wider academic research literature on adolescent mental health and well-being.
• e need to radically rethink the principles that govern the design of services. A digital environment optimised for agency rather than engagement would look very different and would serve our young people better.
• US context, there are a number of current legislative initiatives that share similar intentions
• To be safe means to be protected from danger or risk. To thrive means to grow and develop well, to prosper and flourish.
• Treating digital spaces as separate from “real life” does not align with young people’s use of technology; for them, connectivity is ubiquitous and integrated throughout different facets of their lives.
• Individual youth (and their teachers, parents, and healthcare providers) should not be asked to shoulder the burden of correcting problems that are created and reinforced by the very design of these technologies.
• Additionally, emerging evidence suggests that many LGBTQ youth benefit in real ways from the peer connection, identity exploration and management, and social support aspects of 2 Jones, et al., 2022 3 Office of the U.S. Surgeon General, 2021 6 Alonzo et al., 2021 7 Padin et al., 2021 8 Fioravanti et al., 2021 9 Choukas-Bradley et al., 2023 10 5Rights Foundation, 2023 4 American Psychological Association, 2023 5 Office of the U.S. Surgeon General, 2023 11 Nesi, et al., 2023 12 Tanksley, 2020 8 social media.
• For example: among adolescent girls of color who use TikTok or Instagram, more than 70% report that they encounter positive or identity-affirming content related to race on at least a monthly basis. 11 Participating in digital spaces that celebrate Black joy and laughter is a documented means of coping and healing for Black girls. 12
• These differences — and the meaningful positive benefits accessed by some of our most marginalized youth — are not simply “side notes” in research on youth, technology, and mental health; rather, they are a critical part of the story.

10 more annotations...