"Reliance on Appearance Validation and Coping with Loneliness"...Female Adolescents Fall Deeper into Social Media

Female Adolescents Suffer Greater Emotional Harm Online
Cyberbullying and Negative Experiences More Prevalent Among Girls

As the impact of the digital environment on children's lives continues to grow, it has been found that female adolescents suffer significantly greater emotional harm in online settings such as social media compared to their male peers. Female adolescents are exposed to negative content such as insults and discrimination more frequently than male adolescents, and they also experience deeper psychological wounds as a result.

According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) report "Children's Lives in the Digital Age," published on May 22, female adolescents show a stronger negative correlation between online activity and mental health than male adolescents. In the OECD survey conducted in 2021?2022, 12% of female adolescents reported experiencing negative effects such as disruptions to daily life or emotional distress due to social media use. This figure is higher than that of male adolescents, which stood at 8%.

The proportion of students who reported experiencing cyberbullying?persistent or collective harassment online?was also higher among female students at 15%, compared to 10% for male adolescents. The percentage of those who felt anxious without digital devices was 22% for female adolescents, again higher than the 13% recorded for male adolescents. Obsessive usage patterns, such as conflict with family or failure to reduce social media usage, were also more pronounced among female adolescents. The OECD explained, "Female adolescents use social media more frequently and for longer periods than boys due to psychological factors such as emotional bonds, appearance validation, and social rewards," and added, "Female adolescents are more likely to rely on social media to cope with negative feelings such as loneliness or sadness."

High-income children use digital devices for study...low-income children for 'gaming'

Socioeconomic disparities also led to differences in online experiences. According to the report, children from high-income families used digital devices more for learning or information-seeking and demonstrated higher digital literacy. In contrast, children from low-income families tended to use digital devices mainly for entertainment and gaming, and were more exposed to risks. For example, high-income children used digital devices for learning purposes 12 percentage points more than low-income children, while the proportion of low-income children who played games for more than seven hours was more than twice that of high-income children.

The OECD found that children's digital activities vary greatly depending on parental attention and supervision, family communication and rules, digital literacy education at school, teacher guidance, and supportive peer relationships. The OECD noted, "A study in Spain showed that children with mothers who have low educational attainment and work night shifts spend less time interacting with their parents and have more unsupervised screen time," and added, "Family conflicts can also lead to unhealthy digital activities."

The OECD emphasized that vulnerabilities in the offline world?such as lack of parental care or social isolation?can translate into online risks, including overuse, cyberbullying, and exposure to harmful content. In particular, children who experience stress or loneliness offline are at higher risk of problematic online use as they turn to the online space as an escape. The report stated, "The problems experienced by female students and children from low-income families are not temporary phenomena of cyberspace, but structural issues arising from complex environmental, emotional, and cultural factors," and added, "A single policy measure is unlikely to provide a real solution."

Offline loneliness triggers negative online effects...simple approaches are insufficient

For this reason, the OECD stressed that improving digital literacy among adolescents requires a multi-layered approach involving cooperation not only among the ministries of education, health, and digital government, but also among parents and local communities, as well as all relevant stakeholders. The OECD cited Norway as an example of an integrated approach. Norway operates a long-term, ten-year project under its "National Strategy for Safe Digital Growth," in which the ministries of education, health, and digitalization jointly plan, implement, and evaluate policies. Central and local governments, civil society, and research institutions all participate to comprehensively promote children's safety, inclusion, education, and early intervention in the online environment.

The OECD also emphasized that, as this is a cross-border issue, international cooperation and strengthened accountability for global platform companies must be discussed together. The report suggested, "Digital service providers should be encouraged to comply with child protection guidelines, and countries should work together to establish common standards to guarantee children's rights."