Pornography
Cyberbullying
Pornography
In the United States, approximately 42% of youth aged 10 to 17 have reported viewing online pornography. Problematic pornography use has been associated with mental health issues, including increased anxiety and depression, as well as difficulties in forming healthy relationships.
Suicide
Cyberbullying
Pornography
Suicide is the second-leading cause of death for individuals aged 10 to 34 in the United States, often linked to mental health struggles from digital environments, making it crucial for parents, educators, and communities to address both mental health and online safety to protect vulnerable teens.
Cyberbullying
Cyberbullying
Epidemic Rise Depression & Anxiety
Cyberbullying has a profound impact on adolescents, leading to emotional distress, mental health issues, and in severe cases, self-harm or suicidal thoughts. 26.5% of U.S. teens aged 13 to 17 reported experiencing cyberbullying within the last 30 days, an increase from 23.2% in 2021.
Epidemic Rise Depression & Anxiety
Eating Disorders & Unrealistic Beauty Standards
Epidemic Rise Depression & Anxiety
Exposure to the digital world can exacerbate depression and anxiety in adolescents, as they navigate the pressures of online validation, and the overwhelming flow of unrealistic expectations. 60% of teens reported feeling anxious or depressed due to the pressures of social media.
Eating Disorders & Unrealistic Beauty Standards
Eating Disorders & Unrealistic Beauty Standards
Eating Disorders & Unrealistic Beauty Standards
Social media influences disorders and unrealistic standards, leading teens to develop unhealthy body image perceptions, engage in extreme dieting, and exhibit behaviors such as anorexia, bulimia, or binge eating. These platforms can also create pressure to conform to idealized body types, worsening feelings of inadequacy and fueling disordered eating habits.
False Idols & Influences
Eating Disorders & Unrealistic Beauty Standards
Eating Disorders & Unrealistic Beauty Standards
The digital world often promotes false idols and unrealistic standards, leading teens to struggle with cyberbullying, toxic comparisons, and harmful behaviors, leading to issues like low self-esteem, mental health struggles, and the pursuit of validation.
Sexting
Sexting can lead to emotional distress, cyberbullying, legal issues, mental health challenges, and relational harm, highlighting the need for education and open communication.
Sextortion
Sextortion, where individuals are blackmailed with explicit images, can cause severe emotional distress, mental health problems, and even suicide, highlighting the urgent need for awareness and preventive measures. Teenage boys are the primary targets of sextortion, with many perpetrators posing as young females.
Sex Trafficking
Access & Normalizing Drug Use
30% of human trafficking victims detected globally were children. Child sex trafficking has devastating effects on vulnerable children, causing long-term trauma and exploitation, requiring urgent action and intervention.
Access & Normalizing Drug Use
Access & Normalizing Drug Use
Social media can normalize access to drugs by promoting drug use through influencers or peer groups, leading teens to perceive substance abuse as a common, acceptable behavior, which increases the likelihood of experimentation and addiction. This can lead to increased experimentation, addiction, mental health issues, and social or legal consequences for teens.
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Generative AI
Generative AI, deepfakes, and chatbots can affect teens by exposing them to fake news, manipulated images or videos that distort reality, and scams that exploit their trust. These technologies can amplify cyberbullying, damage self-esteem through false representations, and make it harder to distinguish truth from lies, leading to confusion, mistrust, and emotional stress.