Young LGBTQ+ People of Color Feel Safest Online on TikTok, Study Finds

Recent research from LGBTQ+ crisis support charity The Trevor Project shows evidence that LGBTQ+ youth – particularly people of color – feel most safe and understood on TikTok compared to other social media platforms. The project, which sought to understand the extent of the mental health crisis currently sweeping the community, also provided feedback from young people detailing which social media platforms feel like less of a safe space.

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The ongoing concern relating to the relationship between Gen Z (the current generation of teenagers/young adults) and social media has sparked major discussions about what can be done to ensure social apps and websites provide a healthier, safer environment to their users. Combined with the current discussion revolving around LGBTQ+ mental health and reported emotions of feeling unsafe and having no sense of belonging, The Trevor Project thought it important to ascertain where LGBTQ+ people feel understood and like they can be themselves.

The study, which took place earlier this year, includes data from over 28,000 LGBTQ+ people aged 13-24 from the United States of America. According to the results, 53% of young LGBTQ+ people of color reported feelings of safety and being understood on TikTok, in comparison to 45% of white respondents. Data also showed that Discord was the second highest ranking social media site that evoked this response with 43% of LGBTQ+ people of color, followed by Instagram with 41%, and YouTube with 33%. Smaller social media sites especially created for LGBTQ+ users also followed this trend.

Reports from Yahoo! reveal why Wilson Lee (Senior Learning Research Scientist at The Trevor Project) felt it was important to carry out these studies on the impact of social media on LGBTQ+ people.

“There are lots of good things and also, unfortunately, lots of harmful things. And then they're also good and harmful in