‘I would not have made it out’: Why online spaces matter for 2SLGBTQ+ youth

As Nova Scotia and Quebec follow the lead of countries like Australia and Denmark, who are planning to introduce legislation that would restrict and ban kids under 16 from using social media, some 2SLGBTQ+ youth say they’re concerned that it will limit their ability to find community and critical resources. 

“When I was younger, I went to social media to figure out stuff that I didn’t really understand about myself,” London Clark, a queer youth from Vancouver, told guest host Anis Heydari on Just Asking. 

“It was a place where I learned a lot about the queer community because I didn’t really have anyone else to talk about it with.” 

And Clark is not alone. 

According to a U.S. survey of 2SLGBTQ+ youth by The Trevor Project in 2024, 68 per cent of respondents felt that the online world provided affirming spaces. This compares with 40 per cent, 52 per cent and 20 per cent for home, school and community events, respectively.  

The study was conducted with youth who live in the U.S. between September 13 and December 16, 2023.

Raine Hermosa, a queer and aromantic youth, says removing access to social media for 2SLGBTQ+ youth will “take away a lot of support.” 

“I don’t think our in-person resources and infrastructure are up to par with the actual needs of queer youth in the community,” said Hermosa, who’s currently a first-year university student at Simon Fraser University in B.C.  

He says not every school has a queer-straight alliance club, and he’s known many young people who live in rural or suburban areas who have had to travel “really far” to get to a queer community centre. 

“You’re going to spend a lot more time online because it’s easier,” said Hermosa. 

Hermosa has a supportive family, but he says many 2SLGBTQ+ youth do not. 

“[They] have parents that are more controlling [where] they can’t speak about their identity or their perspective at all — they’re almost silenced,” said Hermosa. 

Hermosa worries that it would “almost silence them completely” if access to online spaces disappears. 

‘A life-saving space’ 

Christopher Dietzel, an assistant professor at Concordia University who researches technology, safety, health, gender and sexuality, said digital spaces have created an “important, profound, powerful difference” between today’s 2SLGBTQ+ generation and those before them.

Older generations, he says, often had to seek community in ways that were “very dangerous.” 

“They had to go to bars and clubs and kind of hide underground,” Dietzel said. 

While online spaces also pose risks, Dietzel believes the freedom and exploration they allow for are far greater — and considerably safer — than what earlier generations had. 

He describes the digital world as a kind of “third space” distinct from home and school — places traditionally shaped by parents and teachers. Like after-school clubs, libraries, or community centers, this third space gives young people room to socialize, play, explore identity, and build community on their own terms.

Omid Razavi, the executive director of It Gets Better Canada, says that space can be “life-saving” for 2SLGBTQ youth, many who don’t “feel comfortable” asking questions about their gender identity at home or school. 

“Having access to online communities is a new-ish way for youth to be able to understand how they’re feeling,” said Razavi. “They can find support systems [and] life-saving education to really help them know that ultimately, it does get better.” 

‘I would not have made it out’ 

For Jessica Winton, the internet provided a lifeline. The 24-year-old is studying for her master’s in environmental sustainability at the University of Ottawa. She also ran for Westmount city council in 2025. These are accomplishments she says her younger self could never imagine.

Growing up in a family that didn’t support her for being trans, and attending a school where no one was openly queer, Winton said she felt completely alone. She struggled with depression and suicidal thoughts. Winton turned to the online world for connection, spending much of her childhood building friendships on Discord while playing video games.

She says she also found support on Twitch, where dedicated 2SLGBTQ+ channels offered spaces full of people who were “very open and welcoming.” There, she says she  could explore her identity freely.

“I think, had it not been for these online spaces, I would not have made it out of that time in my life,” said Winton. “Online spaces really provided me with a sense of community that I would not have been able to find through school or other things at the time.” 

Establishing safe online spaces 

Razavi says the regulators tasked with finding the proper solution to manage young people’s social media use face a “tricky road ahead.” 

While the risks of social media are real — and 2SLGBTQ+ youth face disproportionately high levels of cyberbullying — Razavi says these platforms have also opened doors to community and affirmation that earlier generations never had. 

Online spaces, he says, allow youth to explore and express their identities, connect with peers who understand their lived experiences, and build the kind of “youth-to-youth support system[s]” that are essential for queer and other marginalized communities. 

Instead of banning social media altogether, Razavi hopes governments will focus on strengthening protections by cracking down on hate speech and targeted attacks. He suggests consulting queer youth directly about the benefits and challenges they encounter online.

“It’s a matter of not removing access, but safeguarding access,” said Razavi. 

Dietzel shares that view. He says banning social media for young people, ignores the reality that the world is becoming more digitally connected. With rapid advances in AI and technology, it’s unrealistic to imagine a future without technology, he says.

“If we are delaying that process by saying you don’t get to access technology until later in life … and then ‘Hey congrats, you’re now 16, boom, you have access to everything,’ — I don’t think that that is a reasonable or practical approach to really educate young people to live in our digital world,” said Dietzel. 

Thus, if young people are expected to thrive in that future, Dietzel says they’ll need the tools to navigate it safely and responsibly. Restricting access until later in adolescence, without giving them the skills or education they’ll need beforehand, is not the way to go, he says. 

If you or someone you know is struggling, here’s where to get help:

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