Recent Coverage

Health advisory on social media use in adolescence

May 12, 2023

two people sharing tabletSenior Research Scientist Linda Charmaraman, Ph.D., co-authored this "Health advisory on social media use in adolescence", released by the American Psychological Association. The advisory examines potential beneficial and harmful effects of social media use on adolescents’ social, educational, psychological, and neurological development, and provides recommendations based on the scientific evidence to date.

Social Media and Mental Health: Research-Based Approaches to Support Adolescent Girls’ Wellbeing

March 16, 2023

march 16 flyer wellelsey website

March 16, 2023

In this collaboration with the Metrowest Women’s Fund, panelists share their insights and expertise in a discussion on middle school girls' mental health and social media use.

Advancing Gender Equality Around the World: Four Innovative, Technology-Driven Approaches

March 8, 2023

2023 uncsw panelists

March 8, 2023

In this virtual parallel event of the 2023 UN Commission on the Status of Women, panelists share the innovative ways they are using technology to advance gender equality and human wellbeing.

The Washington Post: TikTok’s trendy beauty filter ushers in new tech and new problems

March 8, 2023

Linda Charmaraman, Ph.D., discusses how beauty filters can be detrimental to teens and young people.

Research Scientist Submits Testimony to Congress on Youth, Social Media, and Mental Health

March 2, 2023

Justice Scales

March 2, 2023

Senior Research Scientist Linda Charmaraman, Ph.D., submitted this statement for the record in connection with the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee's February 14, 2023 hearing, "Protecting Our Children Online." In the statement, she notes some important policy directions and research findings that apply to youth, social media, and mental health, and urges the Committee to recognize that social media can have positive as well as negative effects on youth mental health.

The Conversation: Research on teen social media use has a racial bias – studies of white kids are widely taken to be universal

Diverse teens using technologyFebruary 20, 2023

White teens and teens of color do not have identical online experiences, explains Linda Charmaraman, Ph.D.

Psychology Today: Is Social Media Use Really Problematic for Teens?

February 7, 2023

Research from our Youth, Media & Wellbeing Research Lab is cited in an article on tips to minimize social media risk.

Research Scientist Teaches Wellesley Students How to Write for the Real World

January 19, 2023

Wellesley College students in Calderwood Seminar January 19, 2023

The interdisciplinary course is focused on social technologies and adolescent development.

Associations between pet care responsibility, companion animal interactions, and family relationships during COVID-19

January 9, 2023

For families with children during the COVID-19 pandemic, it is crucial to explore how both youth and parents view their roles with regard to the shared caretaking of pets. We present findings from a U.S. based study of adolescents and parents regarding pet care responsibility. As part of a broader longitudinal study, we analyzed survey data from 567 pet-owning adolescents and a subset of 356 dog owning adolescents aged 10–17. We also conducted 31 in-depth interviews with parents of adolescents from the same study. Adolescents who reported more pet caretaking responsibilities were more likely to spend time with pets to cope with stress and to have improved family relationships during the COVID-19 pandemic. For dog owners only, increased levels of responsibility for the pet was significantly associated with a higher likelihood of identifying as a pet owner. Qualitative findings showcase the range of parental expectations and adolescent initiative around pet caretaking. Our study highlights the continued importance of pet companionship during the adolescent years as they develop their identities as responsible pet owners.


Research reported in this publication was supported by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development of the National Institutes of Health under award numbers 5R03HD101060-02 and 1R15HD094281-01. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

Meta: How Meta Is Working to Provide Safe, Age-Appropriate Experiences for Teens

Asian teen girls using tabletJanuary 9, 2023

During a summit hosted by Meta, Linda Charmaraman, Ph.D., give a deep dive into the latest research on social media and teen wellbeing.

2022 Meta Summit on Youth Safety and Well-Being

January 5, 2023

teen girls using social media

January 5, 2023

In a summit hosted by Meta, Linda Charmaraman, Ph.D., discusses the latest research on youth social media use and wellbeing.

NBC News: Agism on Social Media

phone user opening social media appsDecember 16, 2022

Linda Charmaraman, Ph.D., comments on a TikTok trend and Gen Z's ideas around aging and beauty.

Research Scientist Collaborates with Instagram to Promote Supportive Spaces Online

December 7, 2022

charmaraman ig event expertsRobin Stevens, Associate Professor at USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, Linda Charmaraman, and Earl Turner, Associate Professor of Psychology at Pepperdine University, served as experts on the Well-being Creator Collective pilot program.Linda Charmaraman, Ph.D., was invited to join an expert steering committee to advise Instagram content creators on creating supportive online content.

Discover Magazine: Social Media May Be Changing The Way You Communicate

woman using social media on public transitOctober 27, 2022

Linda Charmaraman, Ph.D., discusses the positive and negative impacts of teen social media use. 

The Charlatan: Online anonymity: The internet as a safe space for LGBT+ youth

teen using phoneOctober 16, 2022

Linda Charmaraman, Ph.D., discusses her research on the positive impacts of social media use for sexual minority teens.

Morgan Stanley: Parenting in the Digital Age: Fostering Well-being and Resilience

father and son with smarthponesOctober 4, 2022

Linda Charmaraman, Ph.D., spoke on a panel hosted by the Morgan Stanley Alliance for Children's Mental Health. 

Annual Summer Workshop Teaches Middle School Girls About Digital Wellbeing

August 29, 2022

2022 summer digital wellbeing workshop presenters August 28, 2022

The five-day program allowed students to co-design an app to promote positive social media use and featured Wellesley College students and expert speakers on STEM.

Washington Post: Online creators are de facto therapists for millions. It’s complicated.

social media influencerAugust 29, 2022

Linda Charmaraman, Ph.D., discusses a collaboration to educate creators to help them produce responsible content on social media.

ADHD Experts Podcast: Mental Health Out Loud: The Mental Health Fallout from Social Media Use

microphoneAugust 16, 2022

On ADDitude's ADHD Experts podcast, Linda Charmaraman, Ph.D., discusses the unique ways that social media use can offer positives and negatives for neurodivergent youth. 

ScreenStrong Families: How YouTube Impacts Middle School Development with Dr. Linda Charmaraman

middle school age girl using smart phoneAugust 15, 2022

In a podcast interview, Linda Charmaraman, Ph.D., discusses her research on social media use and youth development.

The role of parents, other adults, peers and informal learning communities in shaping positive social media use in adolescent girls

August 7, 2022

This study aims to introduce the concept of communities of social media practice, where more experienced users provide guidance to female novice users, “onboarding” newcomers.

Through surveys with 968 early adolescents (average age was 13), the authors quantitatively explored sources and types of guidance for young social media users, popularity of conversation themes related to this guidance, and how these conversations are associated with positive social media engagement. The authors qualitatively documented a case study of how a summer workshop of 17 students promotes positive social media use through a community of practice.

Although early adolescent girls reported that they more frequently talked to their parents about a wider range of social media topics, same-age peers and younger family members (e.g., siblings, cousins) were also frequent sources. Surprisingly, the authors also found that the source most strongly associated with positive social media use was the peer group. This case study of an intentional community of practice demonstrated how peers go from “peripheral” to “centered” in socializing each other for more positive social media use.

Unlike most prior scholarship on mediating social technology use, this study focuses on a critical developmental period (e.g., early adolescents), sources of guidance other than exclusively parents, explores the specific conversation topics that offer guidance, and documents an informal community of practice for girls that provides the training ground for peers and adult facilitators to codesign more positive social media spaces.


Research reported in this publication was supported by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development of the National Institutes of Health under award number 1R15HD094281-01. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

Marginalized and Understudied Populations Using Digital Media

August 1, 2022

 

 

Despite the pervasive use of social technology among minority youth, digital media research has been primarily based on white samples of older adolescents and emerging adults. It is critical to understand how overlooked populations—including racial-ethnic, sexual and gender, and other minorities—use digital media for purposes associated with their marginalized backgrounds. As social media adopters are becoming younger, we must explore how the pervasiveness of constant exposure and use affects marginalized identity development in early adolescence.

This book chapter provides an overview of how understudied subgroups of adolescents, namely racial/ethnic minorities, LGBTQ+, economically disadvantaged, and neurodiverse individuals, are influenced by online representations affecting their identity development, and inherent opportunities for risk and resilience. Social media research needs a) to begin at earlier developmental stages to capture critical identity development online and offline, and b) more nuanced research beyond digital access to examine online connections for healthy identity exploration of marginalized adolescents.


Research reported in this publication was supported by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development of the National Institutes of Health under award number 1R15HD094281-01. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

Good Morning America: Parents sue TikTok after daughter dies attempting 'blackout' social media challenge

July 21, 2022

Dr. Linda Charmaraman shares insights from her research on youth social media use and wellbeing.

The Social Complex: How Digital Media is Affecting Teens & Tweens

tween social media userJuly 19, 2022

In a podcast interview, Linda Charmaraman, Ph.D., discusses the resilience of teens and tweens in a digital world.

ABC News: LGBTQ+ community facing increased social media bias, author says

ABC News logoJune 29, 2022

Linda Charmaraman, Ph.D., shares research findings on LGBTQ teens' social media use.

The Academic Minute: For LGBTQ Youth, Social Media Can Have Unexpected Benefits

The Academic Minute logoJune 22, 2022

Linda Charmaraman, Ph.D., shares research findings on LGBTQ teens' social media use.

Social Media Friends From Afterschool are Associated With Positive Youth Development in Digital Settings

June 17, 2022

middle school friends take a selfie

Positive youth development has been extensively documented in contexts such as the family, school, and afterschool programs. Emerging theory and research indicate that digital contexts such as social media may also be venues through which young people develop skills and attributes associated with the 5 Cs model (competence, confidence, connection, caring, and character) of positive youth development and thriving.

This study strives to understand if and how middle school youth’s in-person and online networks connect, and if they do connect, whether these connections relate to engaging in beliefs and behaviors associated with positive youth development.

The results suggest that in this sample, middle school youth included peers from afterschool programs in their online networks, and those who had friends from afterschool programs and school engaged in social media behaviors related to positive youth development at higher rates than those who were not connected to in-person networks. No association was found between the amount of time spent in afterschool contexts and any of the positive or problematic social media outcomes in this study.

The authors discuss implications for youth development professionals considering the influence of social media on youth, and next steps for research on afterschool activities and social media use.


This research is supported by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development of the National Institutes of Health under award number R15HD094281. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

This paper was a collaboration between the National Institute on Out-of-School Time (NIOST) and the Youth, Media & Wellbeing Research Lab at the Wellesley Centers for Women.

Discrimination and racial socialization on Asian American parent and youth mental health

June 9, 2022

Asian American adolescents are facing unprecedented risks to their mental health. They are living with high levels of anti-Asian hate and violence fueled by references to COVID-19 as “the China virus.” Physical assaults against Asian Americans skyrocketed by 145% in 2020, and 80% of youth report being bullied or verbally harassed.

Linda Charmaraman, Ph.D., is involved in the BOBA Project, a study that will fill a critical gap in the science of how discrimination affects Asian American adolescent mental health. The study is funded by the National Institutes of Health and led by Dr. Cindy Liu, director of the Developmental Risk and Cultural Resilience Laboratory at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Dr. Tiffany Yip of Fordham University.

Charmaraman and her colleagues are following 350 Chinese American adolescents, their Chinese heritage parent, and a peer to investigate the effects of discrimination experiences, discrimination responses, and racial socialization processes on adolescent mental health and chronic stress. The long-term objective is to develop evidence on how parents, peers, and social media can be leveraged to mitigate the negative health consequences of discrimination. Charmaraman and her Youth, Media & Wellbeing Research Lab are focused on understanding the racial socialization processes that take place within peer relationships, particularly on social media.


This work is supported by the National Institutes of Health: R01MH129360.

New Study Will Investigate How Discrimination Affects the Mental Health of Asian American Adolescents

June 9, 2022

Sad Asian teen girl.

The long-term aim of the study is to develop evidence on how parents, peers, and social media can mitigate the negative health consequences of discrimination. 

Adolescent Media Project (AMP)

June 8, 2022

This study of the Youth, Media & Wellbeing Research Lab aims to better understand the contexts and characteristics that influence how social media use connects with mental health and wellbeing for young adolescents. It capitalizes and expands upon an existing longitudinal study and, for a subset of young users (13- to 14-year-olds), utilizes data that assesses adolescents moment-by-moment.

The study’s primary aim is to determine the specific characteristics (e.g., demographics) and social contexts (e.g., COVID pandemic, family media rules) of adolescents’ online social interactions (e.g., relationship of the people interacting, content of interaction, total amount of use) that are associated with indicators of mental wellbeing.

The study’s significance lies in 1) furthering scientific understanding about standardized data collection methods and innovative technology to systematically document early adolescent digital interactions at a more timely, contextualized level, and 2) identifying contextual variables and individual characteristics that are associated with risky and resilient social media use. In the long term, findings will be applicable to interventions designed to encourage online behaviors linked to positive mental health outcomes and discourage others.

Brasil de Fato: Como as redes sociais podem fomentar o extremismo em jovens?

smart phonesJune 1, 2022

Linda Charmaraman, Ph.D., discusses her research on youth wellbeing and social media use. (Article in Portuguese.)

Study Examines Parents' Perspectives on the Benefits and Challenges of Adolescent Pet Companionship

May 23, 2022

middle school age girl uses laptop while holding pet dog May 23, 2022

Adolescents’ relationships with their pets can be very important, since adolescents are at a developmental stage when they’re relying less on their families and more on other relationships in their lives—both human and animal.

From Regulating Emotions to Less Lonely Screen Time: Parents’ Qualitative Perspectives of the Benefits and Challenges of Adolescent Pet Companionship

May 23, 2022

teen girl uses phone with dogAdolescents’ relationships with their pets can be very important, since adolescents are at a developmental stage when they’re relying less on their families and more on other relationships in their lives—both human and animal. Yet most research on pet companionship focuses on adults and young children. Moreover, lived experiences around having pets in households with adolescents are underexplored, particularly from parents’ perspectives.

The research team interviewed 31 parents/guardians in the Northeast U.S. to explore their perceptions of the benefits and challenges of having pets for their adolescent’s wellbeing as well as how adolescents affected their pet’s wellbeing.

The three main themes for perceived benefits of pets included social (e.g., reducing anxiety), physical (e.g., screen time companionship), and emotional (e.g., regulation of difficult emotions such as anger and loneliness). Challenges to adolescent wellbeing included such social topics as family tension around unevenly shared responsibilities, physical themes such as problematic animal behaviors, and emotional themes related to grieving the passing of pets.

Dr. Charmaraman and her coauthors offer a developmental systems approach to understanding pets within adolescent families, noting future directions for developing family interventions to improve pet-adolescent interactions given the demands of child and pet upbringing during adolescence.


Research reported in this publication was supported by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development of the National Institutes of Health under award numbers R03HD101060-02 and R15HD094281-01. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

Innovating Novel Online Social Spaces with Diverse Middle School Girls: Ideation and Collaboration in a Synchronous Virtual Design Workshop

May 18, 2022

middle school girl doing remote lesson with laptop The authors of this study led a synchronous virtual workshop centered on social media innovation, collaboration, and computational design for 17 ethnically diverse, geographically dispersed middle school girls (ages 11-14). In this paper, they present the culminating design ideas of novel online social spaces, focused on positive experiences for adolescent girls and produced in small groups, as well as a thematic analysis of the idea generation and collaboration processes.

The authors reflect on the strengths of utilizing social media as a domain for computing exploration with diverse adolescent girls, the role of facilitators in a synchronous virtual design workshop, and the technical infrastructure that can enable active participation and use of participatory design principles in educational workshops with this population.


This study was supported by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development: R15HD094281-01. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

Business Insider India: How does social media affect teenagers? Understanding the mental health impact — and why it's not all bad

Teen girl of African descent uses smartphoneMay 16, 2022

Research on body image from Linda Charmaraman, Ph.D., is cited in an article on teen wellbeing.

Now Recruiting Middle School Girls for 2022 Virtual Summer Workshop on Digital Wellbeing

April 21, 2022

Girls in STEM illustration April 21, 2022

Researchers are looking for middle school girls to participate in a free workshop on designing healthier social media experiences.

New Youth Advisory Board Guides Digital Wellbeing Workshops

April 1, 2022

Youth Advisory Board April 1, 2022

The Youth, Media & Wellbeing Research Lab recently created a Youth Advisory Board to inform the development of its virtual digital wellbeing workshops.

Examining Early Adolescent Positive and Negative Social Technology Behaviors and Wellbeing During the COVID-19 Pandemic

March 16, 2022

teen with phone There is a popular assumption that teens’ wellbeing is intricately linked to their social media use. The thinking goes that if they’re spending a lot of time online, and they’re unhappy, it must be because they’re spending a lot of time online.

But a new study from Dr. Charmaraman and her colleagues found that although teens were using social technologies more during COVID-19 lockdowns, and experiencing increases in social anxiety, loneliness, and depression, there was no evidence that one caused the other.

The aims of this longitudinal survey study of 586 middle school students in the Northeast U.S. were to examine (a) changes in positive and negative social technology behaviors prior to the COVID-19 pandemic (fall 2019) compared to during the pandemic (fall 2020), and (b) whether changes in social technology behaviors were associated with wellbeing outcomes.

Dr. Charmaraman and her co-authors found that during this time period, there were significant increases in frequency of checking social media, social technology use before bedtime, problematic internet use, and positive social media use, such as providing support to others and online civic engagement. Students also experienced significant increases in social anxiety, loneliness, and depressive symptoms (and on the bright side, increased strategies of coping when stressed).

The researchers did not find any strong evidence, however, that the changes in wellbeing that teens experienced were meaningfully related to their social technology use. Interestingly, although there were significant increases in time spent on social media, there were no increases in negative online interactions such as harassment—which may provide some relief to parents and educators that this increased time did not necessarily expose youth to more harmful social interactions.

Research reported in this publication was supported by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development of the National Institutes of Health under award number R15HD094281-01. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

Verywell Health: Social Media Didn’t Cause Teens’ Pandemic Stress

March 14, 2022

Linda Charmaraman, Ph.D., discusses her research on teens' social media use during the pandemic.

Scary Mommy: TikTok For Young Kids? No Thanks

Graphic depicting social mediaJanuary 31, 2022

Linda Charmaraman, Ph.D., shares her expertise on the minimum age for joining social media.

Washington Post: Instagram is touting safety features for teens. Mental health advocates aren’t buying it.

A girl looks sad and tired while using her phoneDecember 7, 2021

Linda Charmaraman, PhD., contributes an expert opinion on Instagram's impact on teens.

Scary Mommy: How Young Is Too Young For Social Media?

young teen boy using smartphoneNovember 14, 2021

Research from our Youth, Media & Wellbeing Research Lab explores the impacts of using social media at a young age. 

Diverse Data Samples Drive Social Change

November 10, 2021

Huiying, Linda, and BudnampetCharmaraman (center) and her former Wellesley College student interns Huiying B. Chan ’16 (left) and Budnampet Ramanudom ’18 (right) co-authored a book chapter on how and why women of color use social media to create virtual communities.Through the lens of her work on youth, media, and wellbeing, Linda Charmaraman, Ph.D., explains how diverse data samples can help to better support underserved populations.

Speaking of Psychology: How social media affects teens’ mental health and well-being, with Linda Charmaraman, PhD

A tired girl using her phone under the blanketNovember 10, 2021

Linda Charmaraman, Ph.D., shares her expertise on the mental health benefits and drawbacks of social media.

Verywell Mind: TikTok May Be to Blame for Rising Cases of Tic Like Behaviors in Teen Girls

Illustration of a brain in the side profile with cogs and wheelsNovember 6, 2021

Linda Charmaraman, Ph.D., discusses a new social media trend. 

Fast Company: How young is too young for social media? Behavioral scientists are closer to an answer

A young girl lying down on a sofa with her dog while using her phoneOctober 29, 2021

Linda Charmaraman, Ph.D., shares findings from her research on social media use in younger children.

Joining Social Media Before Age 11 Is Associated With Problematic Digital Behaviors

October 27, 2021

tween girl of asian descent uses a tablet October 27, 2021

A new study finds that limiting access lessens some negative effects of social media use among younger users.

Young Sexual Minority Adolescent Experiences of Self-expression and Isolation on Social Media: Cross-sectional Survey Study

October 6, 2021

Pride FlagsThis article examines how sexual minority middle schoolers use social media, who they are connected to and for what purposes, and the associations between these behaviors and mental wellbeing, compared to their heterosexual peers.

Dr. Charmaraman, Hodes, and Richer surveyed 1,033 early adolescents aged 10-16 from four middle schools in the Northeast U.S., comparing the responses of sexual minorities (24.3% of the sample with known sexual orientation) to their heterosexual peers. 

The researchers found that sexual minorities reported having smaller networks on their favorite social media site, and less often responded positively when friends shared good news or tried to make friends feel better when they shared bad news. However, unlike heterosexual youth, sexual minorities more often reported joining a group or online community to make themselves feel less alone. They had higher averages of loneliness and social isolation than heterosexual students, and were also twice as likely to have tried to harm themselves in the past and more likely to have symptoms of depression. About 39.1% of sexual minorities had no one to talk to about their sexual orientation. They were 1.5 times more likely to have joined a social media site their parents would disapprove of and they were more likely to report seeing online videos related to self-harm.

Given previous reports of supportive and safe online spaces for sexual minority youth, these findings demonstrate that these youth prefer to maintain small, close-knit online communities (apart from their families) to express themselves, particularly when reaching out to online communities to reduce loneliness.

Findings from this study have been featured in ABC News, The Conversation, Academic Minute, Actively Learn, Let's Go There podcast, and the Women Change Worlds blog.


This study was supported by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development: R15HD094281-01. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health. Support was also provided by the Wellesley Centers for Women Class of 1967 Internship Program and by Children and Screens: Institute of Digital Media and Child Development, which provided pilot seed funds before the National Institutes of Health award.

 

Verywell Mind: Facebook Knew Instagram Was Harmful to Mental Health of Teen Girls, Said Nothing

A teenage girl using her phone while lying on a sofaOctober 6, 2021

Linda Charmaraman, Ph.D., shares her expertise on leaked research studies about Instagram’s impact on teens.





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