For LGBTQ+ young people, online spaces may serve as a place to explore different identities, find affirmation and support, and gain access to peers like them. However, online spaces also bring the potential for exposure to bullying and anti-LGBTQ+ sentiments being expressed by others. Actively engaging young people to describe this duality is essential to understanding how they experience online environments. With that in mind, Born This Way Foundation and Hopelab conducted a study of over 1,200 LGBTQ+ young people across the U.S. to provide a comprehensive view of their online experiences. The findings highlight how partnerships between young people and trusted adults can create kinder and braver environments that enhance well-being outcomes and reduce depression among LGBTQ+ young people.

Highlights include:

• LGBTQ+ young people feel significantly safer expressing their identities online, with 44% feeling very safe in digital spaces compared to just 9% in person. This disparity is particularly stark for transgender and nonbinary youth, who are twice as likely to disclose their gender identity online than in person (80% vs. 40%).
• LGBTQ+ young people rated friends — both online and in-person — as providing nearly twice the social support of family, underscoring the critical role of peer relationships for LGBTQ+ young people (63% and 62% vs. 33%).
• In-person spaces are also important for the well-being of LGBTQ+ young people. Those who reported access to in-person spaces that were very supportive of their LGBTQ+ identity had nearly half the rates of depression as those who didn’t (28% vs. 53%).
• 76% of LGBTQ+ young people expressed serious concern about potential government restrictions on LGBTQ+-affirming online content, while simultaneously prioritizing platform safety in their digital spaces.

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