A summary of the science with action steps regarding video viewing and adolescent well-being
Psychological and social scientists are continually investigating the potential effects of viewing video content on adolescents’ well-being. Both the volume of video content and its accessibility to children and adolescents have increased dramatically in recent years. This is due primarily to the availability of video content on video streaming channels and via various online platforms (e.g., social media, gaming) on which adolescents can consume video content produced by a wide range of creators, including adolescents themselves.1 Much of this new video content has been created without sufficient policies that are designed to protect youth and support healthy development.
Science suggests multiple ways that video content, and the platforms that host it, can help or harm teens. Addressing these issues is the responsibility of numerous stakeholders, including (but not limited to) platforms and channels hosting and distributing video content, content creators, parents, caregivers, educators, policymakers, and technology industry professionals. This report offers a series of recommendations, some of which may be enacted immediately by parents, youth, or educators. Others will require more substantial change by video hosting platforms, content creators, policymakers, and/or technology professionals. To ensure the time adolescents spend consuming content on video platforms is safe and enriching, all should review the recommendations below and consider how best to address each.
This report summarizes the extant scientific literature (as of November 2024). Note that these recommendations focus predominantly on adolescents’ viewing of video content, rather than other video-based experiences such as direct messaging friends virtually, video chatting, or creating video content.
Considerations
The recommendations below are based on the scientific evidence to date and the following considerations.
- Video content may affect youth regardless of the format or medium in which it is viewed. Video content may be consumed through many formats. These include, but are not limited to, film, television, and short-form clips available on the internet through video sharing, streaming services, live-streaming, video hosting/marketing platforms, or social media applications. Far more research has been conducted to understand the potential effects of film and television content on adolescent well-being than has focused on newer content delivery methods. However, research to date consistently suggests that links between content and youths’ subsequent well-being generalize across formats.2 In other words, it is the content that matters more than the medium (i.e., film vs. television episode vs. online short) in which the content is embedded.Emerging research reveals that video platforms may contain features that exacerbate the effects of video content on adolescent well-being. For instance, platforms 1) recommend content to youth, 2) switch rapidly between short-form videos, 3) autoplay videos to extend viewing time, and/or 4) allow viewers to share reactions to what they have viewed. These platform features may magnify the effects of video content,3 and may be especially influential as they often operate without viewers’ knowledge, and contribute to viewing habits that may require greater oversight or change. Increasingly, many platforms use artificial intelligence to monitor adolescents’ behavior (e.g., analyzing which videos adolescents watch, which content adolescents pause over while scrolling, and what terms adolescents use to search for content).4 These data then are used to recommend content and advertising to teens, often to maintain adolescents’ engagement online for as long as possible. These tools can be used to promote or hinder adolescent well-being.
- Research continues to expand. Hundreds of scientific studies yield agreement on the types of content that are harmful or helpful for youth development. This research is based on investigations involving hundreds of thousands of adolescents throughout the world. A smaller number of studies provide important useful information regarding teens with minoritized racial, ethnic, sexual, or gender identities.5, 6, 7, 8 Even less is known regarding youth with disabilities, neurodiversity, or historical/existent mental health issues.9 Many studies have used designs that allow for causal conclusions. Most of this research has examined short-term associations between exposure to video content and subsequent adolescent well-being, and some has revealed long-term effects of video content.10
- Adolescence is a gradual transition; not all youth go through the same changes or experiences at the same age.11 Adolescents mature and develop competencies at different rates. Although research can inform the general developmental appropriateness of various types of video content,12 no evidence would allow for the identification of specific age cutoffs for discrete types of video content within adolescence. Note that most adolescents navigate experiences with progressively less oversight from parents or caregivers as they develop and are afforded increasing autonomy to make their own choices regarding content they choose to consume and create.
- Adolescence is a time for growth; video content can help. Adolescence is when youth learn more nuanced ways of thinking, feeling, understanding complex information, developing more sophisticated interpersonal relationships, and forming a more stable sense of self-concept and identity.11, 13 Content and platform features that allow youth to excel and grow toward these important milestones, enhancing their interest in exploration and expression, are generally helpful for adolescents.
- Not all youth respond to video content in the same way. Every child is unique in their predispositions, sensitivities, and responses, which means they may react differently to the same content. This concept, often referred to as differential susceptibility,14, 15 suggests that individual differences—such as temperament, neurodiversity, exposure to stress or violence, traumatic experiences, mental health, age, or exposure to socioeconomic or structural disadvantage—can make some teens more sensitive to media than others.16, 17 For instance, adolescents with heightened emotional sensitivity or anxiety may find intense or complex themes more distressing, while those with body image concerns or a history of disordered eating are more likely to be influenced by content that promotes unhealthy body ideals.18
- Parents, caregivers, and other trusted adults play an important role in how video content affects youth.18, 19 Parents can take steps to help youth maximize the opportunities inherent in media use and minimize possible risks.20 For instance, parents can set clear expectations, rules, and limitations on their teens’ video viewing habits, and also discuss content seen on screen with their teen.20, 21 It’s important to underscore that if parents and teens watch negative content together without subsequent discussion, it might even harm teens.21 Research suggests that without discussing video content together, youth are likely to interpret parents’ silence as approval of all that was portrayed.20, 21 The effects of negative content can be buffered if followed by discussion with adults to help teens understand what was viewed, engage in comparisons between video content and family values/preferences, and consider problem-solving or coping strategies that teens could use for experiences similar to what they viewed on screen. These discussions work best when parents or caregivers invite teens, in a non-judgmental way, to share what they think. Rather than preemptively imposing their own beliefs, parents should instead listen to their teens’ thoughts and reactions in a positive, supportive manner.
