APA Recommendations for Healthy Teen Video Viewing [downloadable]

This report summarizes the available research as of November 2024. It focuses on how watching videos affects teens, rather than activities like video chatting, messaging, or creating videos.

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• Limit harmful content: Restrict exposure to violent, aggressive, cyberhate, risky behavior (e.g., substance use, self-harm, sexual risks), and stereotypical content. Discuss such content with teens to mitigate its harmful effects.
• Promote positive content: Encourage videos that emphasize empathy, kindness, learning, joy, and prosocial behaviors. This supports emotional well-being and fosters positive relationships.

• Ensure access to accurate information: Guide teens to accurate, reliable health content. Avoid misinformation and unverified advice, especially for sensitive topics like mental health or sexuality. Content from trusted professionals should be prioritized.

• Promote relationship development: Recommend content that models healthy peer interactions, conflict resolution, and inclusivity. Viewing and discussing this content can strengthen social skills and connections.

• Monitor exposure to influencers: Limit exposure to influencers promoting harmful behavior. Teach teens to recognize sponsored content and understand influencers’ potential impact on self-image and values.

• Limit viewing time: Excessive screen time can harm physical and mental health. Encourage balanced activities like exercise, hobbies, and in-person socialization.

• Increase awareness about the risks of AI: Educate teens on the risks of AI-generated misinformation and unrealistic body standards. Platforms should clearly label AI content and restrict harmful uses.

• Reduce exposure to advertising: Platforms should minimize or remove advertisements targeting teens, especially for unhealthy products. Parents should discuss the influence of ads and promote ad-free content when possible.

Exposure to video content depicting violence, aggression, cyberhate, health risk behavior (e.g. substance use, sexual risk taking, self-harm/suicide, unhealthy body images, and dangerous trends), and negative stereotypes can be harmful to teens. Each is discussed below. If teens are exposed to this type of content, it is critical that this exposure is accompanied by discussions with a trusted adult.

Aggressive content includes narratives in which one character intends to harm another, through physical violence, targeted criticism, unkind words, cyber-aggression, and/or relational aggression, such as individuals harming others’ social relationships through spreading rumors, sharing inappropriate images, or promoting the exclusion of others. Cyberhate includes discrimination and cyber-bullying. Exposure to aggressive, violent, and/or cyberhate video content is associated with teens becoming desensitized or “numbed” to aggression, leading to reduced empathy, increased aggressive thoughts, and an increased likelihood of exhibiting aggressive behaviors toward others, particularly when provoked. Moreover, exposure to aggressive content can be associated with imitation effects in which teens may subsequently engage in similar behaviors toward others. Given the importance of forming healthy peer relationships during adolescence, viewing these depictions may be risky.

Stereotypes that include negative depictions of other cultures, opinions, or minoritized groups can perpetuate prejudice, intolerance, and social division. Viewing this type of content influences teens to adopt biased views and behaviors. These effects may be exacerbated when viewed on platforms that allow viewers to share content, add comments, discussion, or “likes.” By contrast, viewing pro-diversity content is associated with a stronger sense of identity among minoritized youth, and greater acceptance of racial/ethnic differences among all youth. Depictions of gender-atypical individuals enhances adolescents’ self-esteem, and contributes to social support and community for all adolescents.

Guides are available to assist parents with decisions regarding specific content and its appropriateness for youth, such as those found at Common Sense Media.

Adolescent well-being benefits from depictions of prosocial behavior, such as individuals helping others or showing kindness. Research indicates that exposure to such content is associated with increased empathy and greater likelihood of teens engaging in prosocial behaviors themselves. Content that portrays characters who care for each other and demonstrate empathy reinforces these values, helping teens to internalize and model these behaviors in their own lives. Furthermore, teens benefit from content on bystander interventions for combating forms of hate and cyberbullying. This type of content can encourage teens to develop stronger social bonds and a deeper understanding of the importance of helping and supporting others.

Educational videos that assist with homework, teach new skills or hobbies, or provide insights into different cultures and experiences can empower teens to expand their knowledge and abilities. They can also prove a tremendous asset in helping those with disabilities gain important skills and understanding of how to overcome challenges. Viewing these types of videos, particularly when other peers are present, can result in positive learning outcomes and helpful discussions between adolescents.

“Joyful” content—defined as video content that elicits positive emotions such as happiness, amusement, and satisfaction—may also improve teens’ well-being. Research reveals that exposure to humorous videos, stories of kindness, and uplifting news can increase positive affect, increase optimism, and foster a sense of hopefulness.

Parents can encourage this type of content through engaging constructively with their child’s viewing interests and habits. Platforms can encourage this type of content through algorithms, making this type of content easily and readily accessible. Content creators can also produce more of this type of content.

As adolescents’ brains mature, so does their capacity to engage in abstract thinking, reflection, growth and exploration, and a desire to find a sense of meaning and purpose. Today, teens are especially likely to look to online content for answers, and thus it is critical for platforms to indicate which content is accurate and meant to be educational in nature versus content that is meant solely for entertainment, and/or not necessarily accurate.

Teens actively look for information about important physical and mental health topics (e.g., regarding balanced nutrition, exercise regimens, healthy skincare routines, self-help for depression, anxiety, and other behavioral health concerns, understanding healthy sexuality). Video content from trustworthy sources, including advice from qualified professionals, is paramount to meet teens’ needs safely and responsibly. Research suggests that although teens may find comfort in seeing others openly discuss their own physical or mental health struggles, unverified screen content may lead teens to inaccurately diagnose themselves with health conditions, engage in inappropriate treatment, and delay seeking proper help. Content from messengers who are not licensed health professionals should be marked as such, and should not be algorithmically promoted.

Particularly for teens who identify as LGBTQ+ or questioning, verified, trustworthy video content can fill a need for youth who do not have access to safe resources and conversations in their homes, schools, and communities.

Adolescent neural and social/psychological development contributes to teens’ strong desire to connect with peers, become more disclosing and emotionally intimate with peers, and consequently rely on peers to explore their own sense of identity (e.g., their interests, values, body image, and self-expression). Adolescence is therefore a critical period to develop relationship skills, and skill-building in adolescence is associated with interpersonal success decades later at work, in romantic partnerships, and as parents.

Video content depicting young people navigating relationships, finding healthy responses to challenging social situations, and finding amicable resolutions benefits teens’ social development. For instance, this might include content that depicts teens adaptively responding to bullying, dealing with offensive comments from others in a mature and healthy manner, working through mental health issues, or understanding and navigating family or peer relationship challenges. This also may include content that explores different cultures or perspectives that broaden teens’ understanding of the world and encourages inclusivity and empathy. When adolescents view this content with other teens it can foster bonding experiences with others in real life, increase a sense of social connectedness, allow discussions about relationships, and help to develop community. Adolescents should be encouraged to watch this type of content, and discuss it with others.

Adolescents’ neural and social/psychological development contribute to heightened susceptibility to peer influence. Current forms of video content include a significant presence of content creators and/or paid “influencers,” or individuals who have gained large online followings for short-form, typically nonfiction content. Influencers may affect adolescents more than others, with potential to shape teens’ behaviors and beliefs (i.e., by promoting lifestyles, products, opinions, engaging in provocative behavior), and can invoke helpful or harmful social comparisons. This can include influence toward prosocial behavior and attitudes (e.g., standing up to bullying, body-positive initiatives, voting), or potentially harmful beliefs (e.g., prejudice or discrimination).

Research shows that teens often develop “parasocial relationships” with influencers, viewing them as trusted role models and even friends. This can make teens more susceptible to influencer-driven advertising, often perceiving product endorsements as personal recommendations rather than paid promotions. Research has shown influencers can be especially persuasive. Sponsored content and paid endorsements should be explicitly noted, especially for influencers with adolescent audiences.

Influencers’ attitudes and behaviors are predictive of adolescents’ own behavior, including healthy, esteem-boosting beliefs, or unhealthy attitudes toward others and adolescents’ risk-taking behavior. The desire to fit in with online trends is particularly important as many teens look to influencers as they navigate the development of their own stable sense of identity. It is critical that platforms and caretakers take steps to shield adolescents from influencer content promoting unhealthy behavior and that influencers use their platform to promote healthy, realistic messaging if their content can be viewed by adolescent audiences. Moreover, teens should be educated that it is difficult, and not always profitable, to become influencers themselves.

Current media platforms make it very easy for teens to access information about news and current events. This can be beneficial in many ways, giving youth opportunities to learn about the world, cultures, peoples, and events. This content can be uplifting and educational.

However, some youth may be less capable than adults of detecting misinformation, and may be particularly vulnerable to highly emotional content that is meant to shape and sway their views. Exposure to a high volume of images, real or not, displaying graphic videos of war, violence, racism, police brutality, and environmental disasters, can have negative impacts on teens’ well-being. Research shows that viewing these purposely sensationalized (and sometimes creator- or AI-generated) images, can lead to trauma-responses and depressive symptoms, especially for members of groups that are impacted by the events.

Video content that allows youth to develop digital literacy skills can be beneficial to well-being, by allowing adolescents to understand how to search for reliable information, how to spot deep fakes, how algorithms work to keep them engaged with specific content, and how to identify, discuss, and process their own feelings when engaging with content, including locating content that increases positive emotion and connection. In addition to safeguards put in place by platforms and policymakers, education systems can also use existing resources to implement digital literacy as a part of curricula in schools and other community settings, such as libraries and youth centers. For instance, digital media literacy curricula could include tactics to counter AI-generated deep fakes, misinformation, manipulation, and other harmful trends within video content.

Autoplay features can be problematic for teens who are still developing impulse control, potentially leading to excessive screen time and exposure to content that may not align with their developmental needs. Moreover, video content offered on platforms that allow for viewer feedback (e.g., likes, comments) and/or that have algorithmically-suggested content should prioritize the healthy development and positive growth of teens over maximizing the time teens spend viewing. This could include limiting the amount of suggested content, having auto-play features disabled by default, checking in with users about timing (such as the “Are you still watching/listening?” prompts), reducing notifications, hiding “likes” to teen-posted video content, and eliminating nighttime prompts. Observing that other viewers have offered positive reactions to videos can increase the harm that comes from negative content or the benefit that comes from prosocial content. In particular, exposure to the types of potentially harmful content indicated above should not be recommended by algorithms. This includes algorithms leading to questionable advertising, information, and influencers. Conversely, algorithms designed to promote diverse perspectives, featuring and promoting characters from various backgrounds and viewpoints, can empower youth and be beneficial for their well-being.

Excessive time viewing video content is related to later problems across biological, psychological, and sociological health, including, but not limited to poorer sleep, headaches, eye strain, irritability, distractibility, psychological distress (e.g., loneliness, depression, withdrawal, anxiety, attention problems, aggression), and risk of Gaming Disorder, Internet Use Disorder, and/or Problematic Interactive Media Use Disorder. Moreover, excessive screen time contributes to lost opportunities in other activities that are critical for adolescent development, including sleep, physical exercise, exploration of and engagement with hobbies, interests, and talents, and in-person social interactions. More must be done by video hosting platforms, and caretakers to discourage excessive screen time, including platforms’ periodic examination of engagement-prolonging design features to ensure they are enhancing rather than harming development.

Research on the effects of AI-generated content is emerging, yet clearly AI is quickly transforming the digital world, bringing both new opportunities and significant challenges for adolescents. Adolescents can learn how to question the content and images they see given how easy it has become to generate false, damaging, or biased information online, including deceptive images and video content.

AI-generated images make idealized and unattainable body standards even more common. These AI-created images often show unattainable body shapes and features that are not real, contributing to harmful social comparisons. Research shows that even before the rise of AI, many young women felt pressure to post highly sexualized images online to get attention and validation. Now, with AI tools readily available, adolescents can manipulate their own images to reflect these idealized, often unachievable body standards, further distorting their sense of self. These tools can also be used to create deep fakes and videos depicting others inappropriately that can also be used in cyber-aggressive attacks.

Emerging concerns regarding AI-generated content also include the proliferation of misinformation given that most AI platforms do not consistently prioritize verified, high quality information. Moreover, AI-generated content can increase the perpetuation of biases given that the vast majority of information available to guide it is scraped from already existing internet content which has been created by, and depicts, majority populations. Prior to integration of these tools into teen accounts, platforms should take steps to ensure they are safe and the most harmful uses are restricted, while also ensuring that AI-generated or manipulated content is identifiable.

Adolescents are vulnerable to the influence of advertisements, particularly on digital platforms where ads are targeted to their interests. Research shows that advertising, especially for material goods and unhealthy products, contributes to unhealthy consumption patterns. For example, adolescents who frequently see advertisements for unhealthy food are more likely to engage with that content and make poor dietary choices.

This is especially concerning as video content has increasingly highlighted individualistic and materialistic values (e.g., fame, materialism) for the past 50 years, while during this same time, community values (e.g., a sense of community/belonging, shared tradition, benevolence) has gradually been depicted less frequently. Research has shown that viewing this video content has been linked with teens’ subsequent values.

To create healthier media environments for adolescents, platforms designed for youth should consider removing advertisements and restricting data collected from young users that is used for advertising purposes.

Parents and policymakers should collaborate to reduce exposure to advertising that promotes materialism and unhealthy behaviors. Developing algorithms that minimize the visibility of advertisements in adolescent-targeted content can also be a valuable tool in creating a more positive, ad-free digital experience for young viewers. Parents should also speak with their teens about the undue influence of advertising so that they are aware of the potential impact on their behavior.

Excerpted from “APA Recommendations for Healthy Teen Video Viewing” from the American Psychological Association (APA). Read the full text, including references, on the APA website.

Source: American Psychological Association | APA Recommendations for Healthy Teen Video Viewing, https://www.apa.org/topics/social-media-internet/healthy-teen-video-viewing | © 2024 American Psychological Association