Safeguarding Youth Mental Health: The Impact of Digital Risks on Mental Wellbeing

Today’s digital risks move fast, and the psychological consequences can be just as sudden: helplessness compounded by real loss, of finances, privacy, sometimes employment. For young people especially, digital risks are a mental health problem hiding in plain sight. 

Whether it’s a cyber attack, romance scam, identity theft, online blackmail, cyberbullying or hijacked account, digital harms can trigger the same kind of anxiety, depression, shame and hypervigilance seen after a break-in, even though nothing physical was taken. Many people manage it alone out of shame, which only deepens the isolation and makes it harder to trust again, online or off.

About 1 in 5 teens say social media hurts their mental health, and teen girls are more likely to feel that impact than boys, at 25% versus 14%, according to Pew Research Center’s 2025 survey. Adults aren’t immune either: 32% say social media does more harm than good for their own mental health. For younger internet users, the fallout can follow them into daily life: 23.3% of students say cyberbullying has affected their ability to learn and feel safe at school, nearly double the rate in 2016, according to the Cyberbullying Research Center. 

AI is adding a new layer to this risk. Generative tools can now clone a colleague’s writing style or a family member’s voice, turning a generic scam into something that feels personal and trustworthy, engineered specifically to get past even cautious, experienced people. The more a scam or attack feels like betrayal by someone we trust, rather than an anonymous stranger, the deeper the psychological toll tends to be. 

That harm is no longer just a private struggle: more and more, governments and judicial systems are recognizing the mental health impact on young people and children. In June 2026, the Canadian government introduced Bill C-34, the Safe Social Media Act, aimed at making platforms more accountable for the harm they can cause young people, from cyberbullying to AI chatbot risks. Two months later, a New Mexico court ordered Meta to pay $942 million over the harm Instagram and Facebook caused to young people’s mental health, the latest verdict in a wave of lawsuits accusing social platforms of designing their products to be addictive to kids. 

Why Digital Risks Hit Young People Harder

Young people are especially vulnerable. They’re often more trusting online, and while 74% say social media helps them feel more connected to friends, 45% admit they spend too much time on it, up from 36% in 2022, according to Pew Research Center. That heavy use comes with less experience recognizing manipulation or impersonation when it shows up.  

The scale of what they’re facing is stark: reports of AI-generated sexually explicit deepfakes of children rose 125% between 2022 and 2025, and online luring reports in Canada climbed 344% over roughly the same period. 

Identity theft offences involving Canadian youth rose 92% in a single year. Cybertip.ca now receives an average of six sextortion reports every day. These aren’t just financial or technical incidents. Youth who experience online victimization are significantly more likely to report poor mental health outcomes, including effects on confidence, relationships and day-to-day wellbeing. 

This is why prevention matters as much as response. Helping a young person understand how deepfake and AI-driven fraud works before they encounter it, and where to turn for help if they face sextortion, online blackmail, cyberbullying and harassment, their mental health as much as their accounts. 

Supporting Mental Wellbeing This Cyber Security Awareness Month 

Cyber Security Awareness Month and World Mental Health Day landing in the same month isn’t a coincidence worth ignoring. Digital safety and mental wellbeing can be part of the same conversation, particularly for young people whose social lives and the portrayal of their images are increasingly lived online. 

Through the Z Zurich Foundation’s multi-year collaboration with JA Canada, mental wellbeing and resilience is a big focus of JA’s programming for students in grades 7 through 12. Since 2022, the collaboration has impacted more than 273,000 young people, with 90% reporting increased confidence and resilience for the future. The next phase aims to impact 355,000 more over the next three years. 

This work is part of a much larger effort to support the mental health and wellbeing of young people as they become increasingly connected online. Zurich’s recent report on The Value of Mental Health names social media exposure as one of the key risk factors behind rising mental health conditions among young people. The Z Zurich Foundation’s youth mental wellbeing work now spans 29 countries through 31 programs, and JA Canada is part of one of them. 

Mental Health Research Canada reports that nearly 28% of youth require mental health support each year, but only 19% can access the services they need. Programs like this one, and the everyday habits families build at home, are both part of closing that gap.

How Cyber Insurance and Preventive Protection Tools Support Digital Wellness

Real peace of mind comes from knowing help is already in place before anything goes wrong. Every Cyberboxx^® Home and Cyberboxx^® Business policy is built around that idea: coverage, tools, resources and support that help individuals, families and businesses predict, prevent, respond to and recover from cyber incidents, with an expert to call the moment something feels wrong. 

Always-on Cyberboxx^® Assist services include identity and dark web monitoring, digital safety resources and a cyber security assessment that flag vulnerabilities before they’re exploited.  

That prevention-first approach makes a real difference. At a nonprofit serving children and families navigating mental health challenges, routine monitoring caught unusual login activity, and BOXX’s virtual CISO resolved it with a calm phone call. While reviewing the account, they also spotted weak password habits and recommended BOXX Academy training. Staff completed it, and a second security risk never had the chance to become anything stressful. 

Cost is sometimes the barrier to this kind of training. But BOXX Academy Pro was built to close that gap. It delivers monthly lessons and graded assessments, with full-team analytics that let managers track progress and reinforce critical skills, building a more resilient security culture without a big budget. 

If something does happen, the Hackbusters^® breach response team gives families and businesses immediate access to cyber experts, 24/7. More than 80% of Hackbusters^® cases are resolved without a claim, helping prevent many incidents from becoming larger financial and emotional losses. Cyberboxx^® Home also covers the cost of experts to help respond to ransom demands, cyberbullying or digital abuse, including psychiatric counselling and legal expenses. 

Protecting Digital Wellbeing Starts Before an Incident 

Cyber attacks and online harms will always pose a challenge, and so will the toll they take. Talking openly about digital risks, building better security and digital wellbeing habits and putting real protection in place before something goes wrong, helps individuals, families and workplaces face that risk without facing it alone. 

Making digital wellness a priority this World Mental Health Day and Cyber Security Awareness Month, and every month, means building the right preventive habits, security and tools, having better conversations and putting the right protection in place, before you or someone in your life or business needs it.