Although the Surgeon General published a report this week blaming social media in part for the youth mental health crisis, a Northwestern Medicine clinical psychologist is advising parents to look to the American Psychological Association's (APA) advisory for more nuance.
"Saying social media is universally bad for youth is wrong and erases the good examples of what it can do for youth who are historically excluded, marginalized, or lack access to peers," said Kathryn Macapagal, an associate professor of medical social sciences and psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. "This includes teens who are LGBTQ, immunocompromised or have disabilities, and rural youth,"
Macapagal also is the associate director of the THRIVE Center at the Institute for Sexual and Gender Minority Health and Wellbeing (ISGMH) at Feinberg. Her research focuses on mental and sexual health and social media use in LGBTQ+ youth populations.
