Instagram, TikTok and other social media have become a daily part of the lives of children and young people around the world, with Amnesty International research finding that 59% of young people now spend an average of two or more hours a day on social media. is spent on. However, research on young people’s social media experiences remains overwhelmingly concentrated in North America, Europe, and Australia.
Amnesty International collected responses from 550 children and young people aged 13 to 24 from 45 countries to better understand their lived experiences, concerns and attitudes towards social media. While the diversity of ideas, user creativity, and opportunities for activity that young people find on social media are celebrated, two major concerns stand out. It’s the damaging and harmful content and platform design that many youth participants describe as “addictive” that weighs on young minds. We feel healthy and helpless in the face of global corporations constantly urging us to participate in a vicious cycle of personal data sharing and content consumption.
Reflecting the concerns expressed by many young people about the impact of social media on their privacy, many respondents chose to share their stories and information anonymously to help guide the research. , did not want their answers published. The quotes and statistics below pertain to her 112 respondents who agreed to publish their responses, but represent trends observed across the dataset. These 112 respondents referenced a total of 15 different social platforms that they actively use. Her five most popular platforms are Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat, and Facebook. While YouTube and TikTok dominate as sources of entertainment, Instagram, Snapchat, and BeReal are the platforms where young people post most widely.
As young people continue to spend more time on social media, a staggering 74% of respondents said they check their social media accounts more than they would like. Respondents lamented the “addictive” temptation of a constant stream of updates and personalized recommendations, often feeling “overstimulated” and “distracted.”
I feel kind of stuck, and subconsciously I find myself having to check things out more than I would like.
22 year old female, France
Young people similarly feel a loss of control over their privacy. Three-quarters of respondents found social media’s terms of use difficult to understand, often criticizing ‘jargon’ and the words ‘quit or quit’. This is an approach that applies social media platforms, forcing young people to choose between recognizing the threat of social exclusion or registering at the expense of their privacy. Amnesty International had previously called for a ban on targeted advertising that relies on invasive tracking of users. So far, only the European Union has passed regulations to prevent major platforms from profiling minors for advertising purposes.
More than half of the children and young people surveyed said that once they set foot on a platform, they feared “racism, violence, bullying,” or “red-tagging” in the Philippines, a term used to delegitimize political opponents. They have had bad experiences, including encountering various forms of political persecution, ranging from tactics to political persecution. online incitement of violence), anti-Semitic campaigns, and unwanted sexual advances by other users. 93% of Amnesty International survey participants said they had encountered misinformation or disinformation. 86% have ever blocked a user for content they didn’t want published, and more than half of respondents have reported content on her Instagram (the most popular platform in the survey). However, many felt that reports made across all platforms were either ignored or continued to be bombarded with posts “similar to those reported.”
Despite information tainted by blatant bias, blatant racism and general prejudice, most reporting I’ve done has failed.
18 year old female, USA
Beyond the “addictive” nature of social media, a significant number of respondents across gender and continents found that social media’s promotion of social comparison and amplification of harmful content negatively impacts mental health. reported that they felt thatYoung people reported feeling “anxious” and “overly self-conscious” about “unrealistic things” [body] He said he had “hypersexualized” his own body “when he was younger” in response to “images viewed on their feeds.”
Another participant shared concerns that the platform’s recommendation algorithms would “pick up” mental health issues, leaving users exposed to more relevant content than ever before. Some young people attributed their lack of self-esteem, depressive thoughts, and eating disorders to social media use, and some said they had since sought out unspecified body-positive websites and platforms.
When asked about their vision of an ideal social media, respondents were clear about how social media would have to change to respect rights, from stronger privacy protections to changing algorithmic recommendations. shared ideas.
A more transparent and less intrusive privacy policy
21 year old male, Argentina
A world where ideas, positive entertainment, educational content and creativity are embraced, and where correct information is properly disseminated without malice or hate.
19 year old female, Kenya
No PhotoShop, no pornographic content, no glorification of violence or suicide. Just real people doing real things.
18 year old female, Portugal
As part of the RIGHTS Click programme, Amnesty Tech will conduct further research into the human rights concerns raised by youth research participants. We will also continue to work with children and young people in key countries such as Kenya, Argentina and the Philippines to campaign for regulatory change.