Screen Usage and Social Media Motives in Gender and Sexual Minority Adolescents

Gender and sexual minority adolescents experience higher rates of discrimination, stigma, and mental health challenges compared to their majority peers. They also tend to spend more time online, potentially using social media and other digital platforms as a coping mechanism. However, little research has examined how gender identity and sexual orientation relate to both the motives for and duration of screen use. The present study aimed to address this gap by exploring these associations and investigating whether gender and sexual minority status moderated the relationships between screen use motives and screen time. A cross-sectional online study was conducted in Canada, recruiting 2132 adolescents aged 10-18 years. Among them, 1111 identified as cisgender girls, 921 as cisgender boys, and 100 as gender diverse; of the gender diverse participants, 84 were female, 8 were male, and 8 did not disclose their sex. In terms of sexual orientation, 1610 identified as straight, while 522 identified as sexual minorities. Screen use motives were self-reported by all participants, while mobile sensing technology objectively measured screen time in a subsample of 494 adolescents. Findings revealed that gender and sexual minority youth reported stronger coping motives and had significantly higher daily screen time compared to their majority peers. Furthermore, coping and enhancement were more strongly associated with increased screen time among minority adolescents. These findings suggest that gender and sexual minority youth may engage in screen use as a means of coping with minority stress. Understanding these motives is essential for evaluating the potential implications of screen use in marginalized adolescent populations.