Social media relationship study

 A new study found that when young people reframe their relationship with social media, they reduce its negative impact on their mental health. "It's not just about the total amount of time you use social media," says Amori Yee Mikami, the study’s lead author. "It's also about what you're doing on social media.” (from Tech & Learning).

Mikami, A. Y., Khalis, A., & Karasavva, V. (2025). Logging out or leaning in? Social media strategies for enhancing well-being.Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 154(1), 171–189. https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0001668

Perceived Credibility of Online Content

Using unique data about how a diverse group of young adults looks for and evaluates Web content, this paper makes contributions to existing literature by highlighting factors beyond site features in how users assess credibility. The findings suggest that students rely greatly on search engine brands to guide them to what they then perceive as credible material simply due to the fact that the destination page rose to the top of the results listings of their preferred search engine. Users also rely on brands in other contexts, from going directly to the Web sites of offline brands with an online presence to online-only brands with which they have prior experience. The paper also discuss that users differ considerably in their skills when it comes to judging online content credibility.

Hargittai, E., Fullerton, L. Menchen-Trevino, E., & Thomas, K. Y. (2010). Trust online: Young adults’ evaluation of web content. International Journal of Communication, 4, 468-494. http://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/download/636/423

Privacy on the Internet

This survey of Americans found that large percentages of young adults (those 18-24 years) are in harmony with older Americans regarding concerns about online privacy, norms, and policy suggestions. In several cases, there are no statistically significant differences between young adults and older age categories on these topics. Where there were differences, over half of the young adult-respondents did answer in the direction of older adults. There clearly is social significance in that large numbers of young adults agree with older Americans on issues of information privacy. A gap in privacy knowledge provides one explanation for the apparent license with which the young behave online. The problem is even more pronounced when presented with offline privacy issues – post hoc analysis showed that young Americans were more likely to answer no questions correctly than any other age group. The study concludes that that young-adult Americans have an aspiration for increased privacy even while they participate in an online reality that is optimized to increase their revelation of personal data.

Hoofnagle, C. J., King, J., Li, S., & Turow, J. (2010).

How different are young adults from older adults when it comes to information privacy attitudes and policies? Young Adults and Privacy. http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1589864

 

YA status report

The indicators presented in this report provide a rich snapshot of the health, education, and well-being of America?s young adults. Report findings include:
- In 2013, 84 percent of young adult women and 81 percent of young adult men had completed at least a high school education. These percentages were up from 79 and 75 percent, respectively, in 1980.
-  The overall college enrollment rate for 18- to 24-year-olds increased from 26 percent in 1980 to 41 percent in 2012. Among Hispanics in this age group, college enrollment during this time increased from 22 to 37 percent, the largest increase among all racial and ethnic groups.
-  In 2011-12, about 68 percent of young adult undergraduates in their fourth year of college or above had received federal loans, non-federal loans, or Parent Loans for Undergraduates (PLUS, received by parents), compared with 50 percent in 1989?90.
- The mean cumulative debt per fourth-year student in 2011?12 was $25,400, up from $14,700 in 1989?90, after adjusting for inflation.
- A higher percentage of young adults ages 20-24 was neither enrolled in school nor working in 2013 (19 percent) than in 1990 (17 percent). This percentage also increased for young adults at various levels of educational attainment.
- The labor force participation rate for young adults was 65 percent in 2012, compared with the peak rate of 75 percent in 1986 and 74 percent in 2000.


 Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics. (2014). America's Young Adults: Special Issue.
http://childstats.gov/

Status of YAs in US report

The Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics (the Forum) published America's Young Adults: Special Issue, 2014, a one-time report on young adults in the United States, ages 18–24. Findings highlight data trends and snapshots of the education, health and well-being of this population as they transition to adulthood. http://childstats.gov

YA reading proficiency report

This report focuses on the development of reading proficiency during the transition from adolescence to early adulthood. The span of time between the ages of 15 and 24 is a critical period of development for young people. Once compulsory education is completed, individual decisions about post-secondary education, employment and other life choices have to be made with major consequences for future learning and employment outcomes. A good foundation in reading proficiency facilitates success in specialized education during higher education or during job-related training. Since reading proficiency is not the goal of such specialized or professional learning, reading skills may begin to atrophy. So both learning gains and losses need to be considered as human capital is developed.
OECD. (2012). Learning beyond fifteen. Paris: OECD.

http://www.oecdbookshop.org/oecd/display.asp?sf1=identifiers&st1=982012031P1&LANG=EN