The Dual Role of Social Media in LGBT Mental Health: Internalized Homophobia, Discrimination, and Connectedness

This study examined the association between internalized homophobia and mental health among LGBT individuals using a moderated multiple mediation model. Survey data from 478 Israeli sexual minority adults were analyzed to test whether community connectedness and perceived discrimination mediated this relationship, and whether overall and platform-specific social media use (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, and YouTube) moderated these pathways. Findings indicated that internalized homophobia was associated with poorer mental health both directly and indirectly through reduced connectedness and heightened discrimination. Community connectedness functioned as a protective factor, whereas discrimination was linked to poorer mental health. Social media use amplified the harmful indirect effect via discrimination while attenuating the protective pathway via connectedness, revealing its dual role in strengthening risk mechanisms and weakening resilience processes. These results extend minority stress theory into digital contexts by showing that social media can simultaneously intensify stress-related pathways and weaken protective mechanisms, underscoring the conditional nature of online engagement in shaping sexual minority people’s mental health.