Spanish LGBTQ+ Youth and the Role of Online Networks During the First Wave of Covid‐19

Abstract

During the lockdown measures put in place at the time of the first wave of the Covid‐19 pandemic in Spain (March through June 2020), LGBTQ+ youth lived through a particularly stressful situation that has so far received little attention. Confined in homes that are often hostile to their sexuality, struggling with the transition to online classes, they reached out to Internet social networks to obtain the support most of them lack in person. This article explores the role of technology for LGBTQ+ youth during a period when the educational environment was not supportive of students’ sexuality and identity needs. The research assesses correlations between the use of online social networks and the perceptions of support received from others (using the concepts of social support, thwarted belongingness and burdensomeness, and cohabitation in their homes). The study involves a sample of 445 Spanish participants aged 13 to 21. A descriptive multivariate analysis of variance and bivariate correlations was performed. We found that social networks were very important for LGBTQ+ youth during the pandemic, helping them to explore their identities, but could also be a source of violence. In this regard, while trans and nonbinary youth’s use of social networks to contact acquaintances show important differences when compared to that of gays, lesbians, and bisexuals, the former group also experiences more violence coming from these networks, finds less social support through them, and feels a stronger sense of burdensomeness in relation to them. Additionally, they were often living with people other than family members during the lockdown. This data suggests the need to offer specific support and online services for LGBTQ+ youth, particularly for trans and nonbinary youth.

A Qualitative Exploration of How Transgender and Non-binary Adolescents Define and Identify Supports

“…The TNB youth finding support within online communities is in line with other studies that have noted similar trends for broader LGBTQ+ youth doing the same, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic (Platero & López-Sáez, 2022). While specific online platforms were not identified, some youth found support online, especially when it was not present in their immediate environment: “My online friends are the most supportive.…”

A Commentary on the Educational Inclusion of Vulnerable Youth After Covid‐19

“…The article raises issues not only of a political nature but also of a pedagogical one, in the sense that a new approach to collaborative learning has been promoted and offered valuable and tangible results. Platero and López-Sáez (2022) focus on problems of social discrimination and exclusion faced by the LGBTQ+ community(-ties) and suggest that social networks, although very important for LGBTQ+ youth during the pandemic (in the sense that they helped them explore their identities), could also be a source of violence, especially for the non-binary part of this broader community. Findings like these should be corroborated through cross-sectional and/or longitudinal comparative studies, which will be able to explore the rather alarming suggestions of previous studies in Spain that the LGBTQ+ community is being repeatedly discriminated against on the basis of their alleged "potential to spread the coronavirus," something that sounds ominous for 21st-century European societies and their laudable records of legislation for the protection and promotion of human rights.…”