Conclusion

Distilling observations predominantly from surveys with young people, we are able to provide an overview of some of the ways digital technologies intersect with young people’s experiences of growing up.

A common thread across our findings is that young people’s experiences with technology are heterogeneous. There is no unified experience of growing up online, with young people experiencing both benefits and harms from digital technologies, often to differing extents to one another. In particular, being part of communities that are often marginalised or minoritised appears to impact an individual’s experiences with digital technology. This impact can be to both personal benefit and detriment, be that in finding safe spaces online to build a community, or in being more vulnerable to attacks on individual identity.

This synthesis has also highlighted some limitations of quantitative data around digital technologies and young people’s experiences of growing up. Large-scale surveys, as reported here, are often conducted online, making it difficult to discern whether young people are completing them independently or with supervision from another adult in the household. The latter may leave some findings vulnerable to social desirability bias – particularly self-reported well-being measures and experiences of online harms.

These online surveys also inherently skew towards specific demographics of young people, such as those with reliable access to digital services, which can introduce further bias into the data. Sampling challenges – particularly around representation of different identity characteristics and sufficient sample sizes for analysis – mean survey data can offer limited insight into the experiences of those from more marginalised backgrounds, be that related to socio-economic factors or other aspects of social identity. In turn, there is limited data through which to examine experiences with digital technologies from an intersectional standpoint, which recognises that complex and often interlinked social factors can impact an individual’s life experiences.

Measures of online behaviours and experiences can also lag behind developments in digital technologies. In this rapidly evolving field, the time needed to develop, test, deploy and analyse measures of online behaviours and experiences can become outdated quickly, posing a challenge for quantitative data collection. Our data commentary also shows that digital technologies are part of everyday life for many young people. Further research in this field may benefit from considering both young people’s offline contexts and the impacts of technology on their offline lives. At the same time, the role of digital technologies in aspects of growing up like well-being and identity formation, is complex, pointing to the value of utilising qualitative research methods which may be better suited to unpack nebulous concepts and heterogeneous experiences.

Below we summarise key observations from across this commentary’s areas of focus: access to devices and time use; relationships; identity; and well-being. This commentary has offered a brief exploration of these themes, focusing on key data points as a basis for discussion. We offer some reflections on where further research may offer additional insights. Grown up? will explore in more depth some of the themes we have discussed above – subsequent publications will be made available on the Grown up? website.

Access to devices and time use

We found that while smartphones are abundantly available to the majority of young people, other devices like tablets and large-screen devices are not. Social inequalities – particularly income inequalities – risk being exacerbated by unequal access to goods and services central to digital inclusion in society.

In terms of how young people are spending their time with digital technologies, the actual amount of time is highly variable from person to person. Broadly defined activities like browsing social media often take up a lot of young people’s time with technology, but these categorisations offer little detail into both the motivations behind some technology use and the specificity of this time use. Young people engage differently with social media depending on the platforms they are using. For instance, some platforms are used primarily for interacting with people they know, while others are not. As such, a more detailed measure of time use would be useful in differentiating these different online experiences, and co-creation with young people may help in developing appropriate categorisations and measures for this. Similarly, young people from our Youth Insight Group referenced ways their time with digital devices changed as they grew older, relating to self-regulatory behaviours like limiting time on certain platforms and having strong digital skills to navigate online spaces responsibly.

Relationships

Digital technologies offer young people ways of sustaining relationships with people they know and building new connections with people they do not. Our data finds that many young people feel positive about the impacts of digital technologies in maintaining friendships, while others point out the benefits of technology for finding like-minded people and building a sense of community. These benefits may be particularly profound for those who have social anxieties or those experiencing vulnerability or marginalisation, and may be found through the offering of online spaces that feel safe.

At the same time, some young people voice concerns around how digital technologies might be changing social norms and the fabric of relationships. Further research into how behaviours to build and sustain relationships online are different from, or complementary to, behaviours young people do in person could add more clarity to the question of how digital technologies might be changing relationships as young people grow up.

Identity

The data suggests that digital technologies can be both identity-affirming and identity-attacking for many young people. These experiences seem to be particularly heightened for those from LGBTQ+ backgrounds, where digital technologies can both leave young people exposed to hurtful comments while at the same time opening up opportunities for them to learn more about their identities and offering different ways of expressing themselves. Further research in this field could delve into the ways in which young people’s relationship with digital technology changes as they grow older, including the impacts this has on their sense of self.

Well-being

As discussed above, digital technologies can impact how young people feel about themselves. Particularly for those with poorer mental health, digital technologies like social media can exacerbate negative feelings and social comparisons with others. Concerns around well-being and social media have been at the centre of policy discourse about young people, with young people themselves highlighting its potentially negative impacts on their attention and general wellness. However, the data we analysed does not suggest a strong causal link between social media and poor mental health, highlighting the importance of thinking about technologies alongside, rather than in isolation to, the wider social contexts and circumstances in young people’s lives.

Many young people have encountered potentially harmful content online. For some of these harms, exposures are gendered – with girls experiencing them more than boys, particularly around non-consensual sharing of nude or partially nude images. Some young people report taking active measures to protect themselves from negative experiences online, like setting time limits on specific applications and proactively taking breaks from digital devices. In the absence of stronger protections from harm online, these measures show the way young people self-regulate their digital lives, particularly at older ages. Reflections from young people highlight inequities in power between individuals and private companies, with some of the above-mentioned self-directed measures framed to reclaim individual power and agency. Further research and policy developments could benefit from addressing these inequities in power young people experience, embedding their voices into decision-making around the tools they engage with day-to-day in order to better support their overall well-being. In addition, further exploration of autonomy and control around digital behaviours – particularly self-regulatory behaviours to protect against harms – may offer more insight into how digital technologies may be impacting the journey to adulthood.

What’s next

This data commentary shows that there is not a unified experience of what it means to grow up with digital technologies. Quantitative data offers broad insight into where some of this heterogeneity is – be that from the types of activities young people are doing online, differences in experiences of benefit and harm, or the role of sociodemographic factors. However, we recognise that unpacking the complexity of experiences in further detail requires different research methods. Upcoming research publications from the Grown up? programme will explore digital technologies and young people’s lives using peer-research, interviews, and focus groups.