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AMERICAN
<br /> V AM PSY'CN^ OLOGICA
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<br /> A second area of concern regarding online content pertains to the frequency of online
<br /> discrimination and cyberbullying, including youths' posts that encourage their peers to attempt
<br /> suicide. Research demonstrates that online victimization, harassment, and discrimination against
<br /> racial, ethnic, gender, and sexual minorities is frequent online and often targeted at young people
<br /> 23. LGBTQ+ youth experience a heightened level of bullying, threats, and self-harm on social
<br /> media. One in three young LGBTQ+people have said that they had been sexually harassed online,
<br /> four times as often as other young people 21. Brain scans of adults and youths reveal that online
<br /> harassment activates the same regions of the brain that respond to physical pain and trigger a
<br /> cascade of reactions that replicate physical assault and create physical and mental health damage
<br /> 25. Moreover, research has revealed that online discrimination often is harsher and more severe
<br /> than offline discriminatory experiences. Results reveal that the effects of online discrimination
<br /> and bullying on youths' risk for depression and anxiety are significant above and beyond the
<br /> effects of experiences that these same youth experience offline. The permanence, potential for
<br /> worldwide dissemination, anonymity, and the like,repost, and comment features afforded on most
<br /> social media platforms seem to contribute to youths' mental health difficulties.As with other forms
<br /> of harassment and associated harms, new policies and processes are needed to blunt the impact of
<br /> these harms.
<br /> The Potential Effects ofDigital Stress. Social media platforms frequently include a variety
<br /> of features designed to maintain users' engagement online, or encourage users to return to the app.
<br /> Psychological theory and research have begun to reveal that this has become a significant source
<br /> 23 Moreno,M.A., Chassiakos,Y. R., Cross, C.,Hill,D.,Ameenuddin,N.,Radesky,J.,Hutchinson,J.,Boyd,R.,
<br /> Mendelson,R., Smith,J., Swanson,W. S., &Media, C. C. (2016). Media use in school-aged children and
<br /> adolescents.Pediatrics, 138(5) its,„ , //Llc4i„c rp it ().3 5 42/lae�] 2Q�3 6a:::2512;Tynes,B. M., Giang,M. T.,Williams,D.
<br /> R., &Thompson, G.N. (2008). Online racial discrimination and psychological adjustment among adolescents.
<br /> Journal of Adolescent Health,43(6), 565-569 it��:C.. //Llc4i,211r/3 ,Q� /l..jaLi4riz�alll�.2�708.�8.�2i.
<br /> 24 Out Online: The Experiences of LGBT Youth on the Internet. (2013). GLSEN.https://www.glsen.org/news/out-
<br /> online-experiences-lgbt-youth-internet.
<br /> 21 Cannon,D. S.,Tiffany, S. T., Coon,H., Scholand,M. B.,McMahon,W. M., &Leppert,M. F. (2007). The PHQ-9
<br /> as a brief assessment of lifetime major depression.Psychological Assessment, 19(2),247-251.
<br /> lltddi�,s„//clsri sr,r,s,/aQ3.a037/a040 351 0.p1.2.247.
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