When LGBTQ+ young people don’t feel safe or accept in their daily lives, they turn to the internet to seek community. Two new studies conducted by the Trevor Project and the Hopelab/Born This Way Foundation, each found that young LGBTQ+ people had a higher rate of depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts or attempts when they were unable to access a safe online community.
“The majority of LGBTQ+ young people have difficulty doing so in their daily lives, with 38% slightly agreeing and 36% strongly agreeing, so they agreed to go online to connect with others,” according to a survey by the Trevor Project.
Hopelab research similarly found that 44% of LGBTQ+ young people felt very safe in online spaces compared to 9% in person. This study shows that online attribution is particularly important for the mental health of transgender youth.
“Transgender youth often have little control over the physical environment and level of acceptance in their communities,” the study states. “But online spaces can provide emotional connections, affirm content and provide alternative sources of support that provide useful information.”
LGBTQ+ youth remain vulnerable to the potential negative impacts of social media on teens.
“Even in the face of these risks, LGBTQ+ young people are still reporting using online spaces, perhaps due to the various benefits they can offer, such as community, support and a sense of resources,” says the Trevor Project.
These communities promote mutual support. According to Hopelab, 74% of transgender youth reported that they regularly provide encouragement to others online.
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These online communities have become more important than 600 bills that limit the expression of strange identities that LGBTQ+ individuals circulate in the US. Twelve states have enacted laws that limit sexuality and gender identity debate in schools, potentially segregating LGBTQ+ youth.
While these studies show that online communities are beneficial for the mental health of LGBTQ+ adolescents, advocates have expressed concern that new internet laws could limit teenage access to these supportive digital spaces.
The Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) is particularly relevant, reintroduced in May after passing the Senate last year, but failed in the House of Representatives during the previous session.
KOSA allows the government to take responsibility for its social media platforms for failing to properly protect minors from harm.
Under previous versions of KOSA, LGBTQ+ Advocates raised concerns about provisions that allow individual state attorney generals to determine which content is harmful to children.
After revision, KOSA will provide FTC executive authority. The change addressed concerns from advocacy groups under the Biden administration. However, when President Trump was elected in 2024, FTC leadership changed hands and rekindled concerns about potential federal surveillance in the LGBTQ+ online community.
“Given the impact of unsupported environments and experiences on LGBTQ+ youth, many may experience mental health challenges and turn to online platforms for connectivity and support,” says a study by the Trevor Project. “Using these reasons to limit access to online platforms has detrimental consequences, possibly increasing quarantine, reducing support for LGBTQ+ risks, thereby exacerbating mental health challenges and suicide risk.”
