State of the Georgia Girl Report

Daily Digital Engagement Two out of three girls in Georgia spend two or more hours per day on a screen outside of time required for schoolwork, according to their parent, representing a 50% increase in girls experiencing substantial daily screen-time over the last 5 years. The composition of girls’ screen time differs sharply. Adolescent girls are the heaviest users of image-driven social platforms – the same platforms most strongly associated with declines in adolescent mental health (Twenge, 2022). Time alone is therefore a weak measure of impact; what a girl is doing with that time, and what those platforms are doing to her, is where the balance of risk and reward lies.

Girls report real benefits from being online, and the research bears them out. A Georgia State study found a slight bump in empathy among teens who use social media to engage with peers (McDonald, 2026). For girls with fewer in person options — those in rural communities, underrepresented at school, or managing a chronic condition — digital platforms are a protective factor, offering peer support and belonging (Odgers and Jensen, 2020). But the same device delivers manipulated images and curated lives that barely resemble reality, and girls pay a steeper price than boys: lower self-esteem, worse body image, poorer sleep, and higher rates of depression (Kelly, 2018). Even a five-day screen break sharpens a preteen’s ability to read emotional cues (Uhls, 2014). The tool that can teach empathy erodes it when left unattended.

50% more girls are experiencing 2+ hours of time on electronic devices compared to 2017. National Survey of Children’s Health, 2016-2017 and 2022-2023, Georgia.

Girls Spending 2+ Hours per Day on an Electronic Device, according to Parent

66%

44%

Pew Research Center, “Teens, Social Media, and AI Chatbots”, 2025. of teen girls use YouTube - the most-used site by all U.S. teens. 89%

2017

2023

POWERED BY THE GIRL SCOUT COUNCILS SERVING THE STATE OF GEORGIA 37