Youth, Social Media & Mental Health in Schools: Needs Assessment

The Center of Excellence on Social Media and Youth Mental Health partnered with Altarum — a nonprofit organization that works with federal, state, and nonprofit health agencies to improve health outcomes — to better understand the attitudes, experiences and needs of educators and school personnel around youth social media use. 

Using a mixed methods approach involving more than 600 individuals who work in school settings, the needs assessment sought to answer research questions such as: 

• What are educators and other school professionals seeing in the school setting (positive and negative) related to social media use and mental health?  
• How do individuals employed in school settings currently address issues (from both a policy and actual experience perspective) related to social media and mental health in their classrooms or office environments?  
• What are the specific knowledge gaps, challenges and resource needs of the educational sector in addressing the relationship between social media and the mental health of youth, and how can tailored educational resources better support them in promoting healthy digital behaviors and mental well-being among youth?  

Download the executive summary below to learn more about the key findings, insights and actionable recommendations that can help schools, families and communities foster healthier, more supportive digital environments for youth. 

Executive Summary