We here at HuffPost High School knew it all along (not to brag, or anything), but now there's the research to back it up -- a new study by the American Psychological Association recently found that blogging may have psychological benefits for teens.
The study, which surveyed 161 high school students in Israel, examined the teens' self-esteem levels and daily social activities and behaviors after a 10-week blogging experiment. The researchers found that the teens who blogged -- as compared to those who did nothing or kept a private diary -- displayed greater improvements in self-esteem, social ease, and emotional well-being. The bloggers who wrote specifically about their social difficulties and those whose posts were open to comments showed the most improvement.
Although research on teens and social media usage have shown mixed results for the effect of social networking on well-being, with blogging, the generally encouraging comments on the blog posts may be a contributing factor in the teen bloggers' lessened social anxiety and increased well-being.
The study's co-author said, "Although cyberbullying and online abuse are extensive and broad, we noted that almost all responses to our participants' blog messages were supportive and positive in nature... We weren't surprised, as we frequently see positive social expressions online in terms of generosity, support and advice."
Do you think blogging is good for teens? Have you found that comments on personal blog posts are generally positive? Share your thoughts in the comments below.