As the second most popular site visited in the world, falling only behind Google.com, in 2022, YouTube was visited over 74 BILLION times (Bianchi, 2023).

YouTube, a social media platform created in 2005, is one of the most popular platforms for uploading, watching, sharing, and commenting on videos (Alqahtani et al., 2023). The platform boasts an average of two billion monthly active users, ranking it as the second most visited site globally (Steele et al., 2022). With such a dominant social media accessible to adolescents, It is imperative to understand the influence of YouTube on adolescent mental health and education.

Most popular websites worldwide as of November 2022, by total visits (in billions)

Tiago Bianchi (2023, November 15) Most popular websites worldwide as of November 2022, by total visits [Infographic]. Statista. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1201880/most-visited-websites-worldwide/

YouTube and Mental Health

As one of the top grossing websites in 2022, it is important that adolescents learn how to leverage YouTube use to increase their mental health. Take a look at these three findings to learn more about this connection!

Findings 1: YouTube can be used for suicide prevention.

Steele et al. (2022) found upon analyzing YouTube videos relating to non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) that YouTube has become a platform where individuals can share their experiences with NSSI and other mental health issues.
Researchers Cheng et al. (2021) found that YouTube videos posted in response to the student suicide crisis in Hong Kong were generally supportive of suicide prevention and encouraged young people to cherish their lives.
A qualitative study (n=16) on adolescents and young adults with chronic illness and comorbid depression conducted by Zheng et al. (2021) found that YouTube was a platform for individuals to share their experiences and perspectives. It served as a source of naturally occurring peer support for individuals with severe mental illness and enabled discussion on sensitive topics.

Findings 2: YouTube can be used for social connections and relaxation.

There are many positive impacts on adolescent mental health with regard to YouTube, such as making social connections (O’Reilly, 2020; van den Eijnden et al., 2018).
In a qualitative study (n = 59) conducted by O’Reilly (2020, pp.5-6), adolescents made statements highlighting the positive effects of social media, such as
- “I usually like to go on YouTube; it relaxes me”
- “When I am on social media I am away from revising, it is all positive”
- “It can be a distraction from the things around you and make you less stressed”
- “It’s a way of communication with people, maybe like really good friend you wouldn’t see very often.”

Findings 3: Excessive use of YouTube is negatively related to sleep quality.

A study (n = 711) by Pillion et al. (2022) found that greater use of electronic devices and social media (particularly YouTube) was associated with delayed bedtimes, later lights-out times, and increased daytime sleepiness in adolescents.
They found that for every 15 minutes spent watching YouTube in bed before sleep onset, the odds of insufficient sleep on school nights increased by 18%.

Recommending Meaningful YouTube use to Adolescents

YouTube has a wide variety of uses for adolescents as they have the opportunity to find videos on just about anything they can think of. Though it is important to remember that YouTube can also affect the sleep schedule of adolescents if used incorrectly (Pillion et al., 2022). It is important that adolescents and those around them learn to leverage YouTube as a tool that can benefit mental health rather than cause a hinderance in the lives of adolescents.

Since YouTube has a vast amount of video publications and channels, we recommend that adolescents, and the parents, educators, and other professionals in their lives, work to use YouTube for meaningful screen-time interactions. Researchers have already established that YouTube can be used as a tool for relaxation and social connections (O’Reilly, 2022). Other research also indicates that perceived connectedness amongst adolescents is a significant moderator for their academic performance as well (Public Health Agency of Canada, 2022).

Using YouTube for mental health involves creating meaningful interactions with channels that help adolescents feel relaxed. In turn, they are also increasing their social connectivity which increases their academic performance. Overall, implementing meaningful screen-time on YouTube has a two-fold goal of increasing both mental health and academic performance outcomes for adolescents.

For students who answered the 2021 Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey, between 2019 and 2021 those who indicated they spent 7 hours or MORE on social media DOUBLED from 7% to 14% (Boak et al., 2021).

YouTube and Education

The research below has indicated that YouTube can be an effective education tool for adolescents when consumed properly.

Findings 1: YouTube can be used as a platform for learning.

An overwhelming amount of research papers unanimously agreed that YouTube could be used as a platform for learning among adolescents (Abed & Barzilai, 2023; Alqahtani et al., 20223; Pires et al., 2022; Steele et al., 2022; Wickramanayake, 2022).
The literature mentions that YouTube offers a different learning experience compared to traditional educational contexts, as it provides a more entertaining and engaging way of learning (Pires et al., 2022).

Findings 2: YouTube can be used as a complement to school lessons.

Teenagers use YouTube as a complementary element for their formal learning curriculum and rely on the platform to understand topics they did not understand during class, do their homework, and study for exams (Pires et al., 2022).
YouTube allows teenagers to learn through different media, such as tutorials, vlogs, and documentaries (Pires et al., 2022).
YouTube has become a highly popular learning platform that is used by students in and out of school (Abed & Barzilai, 2023).

Findings 3: YouTube enables access to resources which may not be available locally.

As an online platform, YouTube enables access to valuable resources which may not always be available locally, such as massive open online courses (MOOCs) or tutorial videos developed by diverse creators, including students themselves (Abed & Barzilai, 2023).

Recommending YouTube as a Supplementary Education Source for Adolescents

Since a plethora of researchers have already established YouTube as an excellent tool for education (Abed & Barzilai, 2023; Alqahtani et al., 20223; Pires et al., 2022; Steele et al., 2022; Wickramanayake, 2022), it is critical that adolescents learn how to gain access to YouTube to better their academic performance. The wide variety of videos available for free on YouTube make it a great platform to supplement the traditional in-person classroom.

We recommend that educators incorporate YouTube lessons or channels into their lesson plans to help students gain a deeper understanding of specific concepts. It is already established through research that youths use YouTube in their private time to supplement their education for concepts that need clarification on or when they need to study for exams (Pires et al., 2022). Therefore, educators should capitalize on the attention that YouTube is getting from adolescents and work to include YouTube in their learning plans.

Including YouTube in lesson planning may centre around providing students with YouTube channels that can benefit their learning in specific courses such as math, English, or history. As well as highlight specific YouTube videos that go into detail on specific historical events (e.g., CrashCourse videos), or even videos that explain the novels being read in class. The goal for educators is to take YouTube as a digital learning tool that can increase academic output for adolescents.

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