Angela Y. Lee, Carmen H. J. Lim, Sunny Xun Liu, R. Kang Xing Jin, Anneke Buffone, Ravi Iyer, Zachary Rausch, Jonathan Haidt, Nathanael J. Fast, Jeffrey T. Hancock, Eleni Linos
{"title":"Adolescents’ Experiences of Online Harms by Platform","authors":"Angela Y. Lee, Carmen H. J. Lim, Sunny Xun Liu, R. Kang Xing Jin, Anneke Buffone, Ravi Iyer, Zachary Rausch, Jonathan Haidt, Nathanael J. Fast, Jeffrey T. Hancock, Eleni Linos","doi":"10.1001/jamapediatrics.2026.4692","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Importance Concerns about the risks adolescents face online are rising, and existing research on online harms rarely examines platform-level differences. Objective To estimate the prevalence of negative experiences reported by US adolescents online, offline, and across 20 different online platforms using a national survey. Design, Setting, and Participants This was a cross-sectional, nationally representative, pilot survey of US adolescents aged 13 to 17 years conducted from February to December 2025 through the probability-based Understanding America Study panel. Self-reported use and negative experiences on 20 online platforms (eg, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube) were assessed. Exposures Self-reported use of 20 online communication platforms (eg, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, and YouTube) in the past 4 weeks. Main Outcomes and Measures Prevalence of adolescents’ reporting experiencing major risks and harms online, offline, and for each of 20 online platforms in the last 4 weeks. Harms include harassment, sexual solicitation, exposure to violent content, and technology-related sleep disruption. Survey-weighted logistic regression examined demographic associations. Results The weighted sample included 472 adolescents (mean [SE] age 14.9 [0.1] years; 46.8% female) from 47 states. Across online and offline contexts, 44.7% witnessed harassment and 29.8% reported experiencing it directly in the past 4 weeks. Online exposure exceeded offline exposure for several harms, including reported exposure to violent imagery (10.7% vs 1.6%), unwanted sexual images (13.4% vs 2.0%), and content encouraging self-harm (9.7% vs 5.2%), while direct harassment was reported at similar rates offline and online (18.5% vs 16.4%). More than half (51.5%) self-reported sleep disruption due to technology use. Prevalence varied by platform. Conclusions and Relevance The findings suggest that negative online experiences are commonly reported by US adolescents and vary across platforms and subgroups of adolescents. Measuring the prevalence of negative online experiences is feasible and analogous to public health risk monitoring frameworks.","PeriodicalId":14683,"journal":{"name":"JAMA Pediatrics","volume":"13 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":17.1000,"publicationDate":"2026-09-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"JAMA Pediatrics","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2026.4692","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"PEDIATRICS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Importance Concerns about the risks adolescents face online are rising, and existing research on online harms rarely examines platform-level differences. Objective To estimate the prevalence of negative experiences reported by US adolescents online, offline, and across 20 different online platforms using a national survey. Design, Setting, and Participants This was a cross-sectional, nationally representative, pilot survey of US adolescents aged 13 to 17 years conducted from February to December 2025 through the probability-based Understanding America Study panel. Self-reported use and negative experiences on 20 online platforms (eg, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube) were assessed. Exposures Self-reported use of 20 online communication platforms (eg, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, and YouTube) in the past 4 weeks. Main Outcomes and Measures Prevalence of adolescents’ reporting experiencing major risks and harms online, offline, and for each of 20 online platforms in the last 4 weeks. Harms include harassment, sexual solicitation, exposure to violent content, and technology-related sleep disruption. Survey-weighted logistic regression examined demographic associations. Results The weighted sample included 472 adolescents (mean [SE] age 14.9 [0.1] years; 46.8% female) from 47 states. Across online and offline contexts, 44.7% witnessed harassment and 29.8% reported experiencing it directly in the past 4 weeks. Online exposure exceeded offline exposure for several harms, including reported exposure to violent imagery (10.7% vs 1.6%), unwanted sexual images (13.4% vs 2.0%), and content encouraging self-harm (9.7% vs 5.2%), while direct harassment was reported at similar rates offline and online (18.5% vs 16.4%). More than half (51.5%) self-reported sleep disruption due to technology use. Prevalence varied by platform. Conclusions and Relevance The findings suggest that negative online experiences are commonly reported by US adolescents and vary across platforms and subgroups of adolescents. Measuring the prevalence of negative online experiences is feasible and analogous to public health risk monitoring frameworks.
期刊介绍:
JAMA Pediatrics, the oldest continuously published pediatric journal in the US since 1911, is an international peer-reviewed publication and a part of the JAMA Network. Published weekly online and in 12 issues annually, it garners over 8.4 million article views and downloads yearly. All research articles become freely accessible online after 12 months without any author fees, and through the WHO's HINARI program, the online version is accessible to institutions in developing countries.
With a focus on advancing the health of infants, children, and adolescents, JAMA Pediatrics serves as a platform for discussing crucial issues and policies in child and adolescent health care. Leveraging the latest technology, it ensures timely access to information for its readers worldwide.