Kids Are Online

A nuanced, intimate picture of how young people live with and on social media. Todays young people find themselves at the center of widespread debates about their online safety, and they are often told that social media platforms affect their mental health and body image by exposing them to cyberbullying and distressing images. Foregrounding their voices and experiences, The Kids Are Online explores how they navigate their identities across platforms and how they really feel about their young digital lives. Ysabel Gerrard talked to more than a hundred teens to unpack the myths and realities of their social media use. Instead of framing todays big platforms as either good or bad, she identifies moments when young people encounter social apps in paradoxical waysboth good and bad at the same time. Using the concepts ofstigma, secrecy, safety, and social comparison, she helps readers understand young peoples experiences. The Kids Are Online proposes a series of recommendations for parents, families, schools, technology companies, and policymakers to imagine how we might build safer social media systems.