Reflections on social media participation in young people and parents during the COVID-19 global pandemic: towards an understanding of the barriers and facilitators to use that support wellbeing

Aims: This study aimed to (1) explore perspectives of young people and parents on social media use during the COVID-19 pandemic, and (2) better understand how young people can use social media in ways that support wellbeing. Methods: Nine parents and eight young people participated in semi-structured interviews remotely via video in July 2020. Thematic analysis was performed on the data. Results: Four main themes were derived: (1) impact of the pandemic on social media use, (2) role of social media in young people’s lives, (3) challenges of social media, and (4) supporting young people to use social media in ways that promote wellbeing. Fourteen sub-themes were identified. Conclusions: Social media use increased within families during the pandemic, and was perceived as crucial for maintaining social connections. Benefits of social media were acknowledged. However, fear of missing out, exclusion, and comparisons were identified as challenges to wellbeing. School support was thought by young people to lack relevance. Barriers to parental support included lack of knowledge and experience, and young people favoured peer support. Findings implicate peer- based models to promote social media use that supports wellbeing, led by young people and in line with rights-based perspectives on digital technology use