For many young people across the region, digital spaces are part of everyday life. Friendships continue in group chats, homework questions are answered in short videos, and new interests are discovered, explored and sometimes turned into careers from a phone screen. While these experiences create opportunities to learn and connect, they also raise important questions about how young people can navigate the digital world in a healthy way, and it’s our collective responsibility to ensure they have the tools to do so with confidence.

Malak Jaafar. (Supplied)
Malak Jaafar. (Supplied)

When it comes to the conversation around mental health, it is important to recognize both sides of the digital experience. The potential pressures of overconnectivity can all weigh on a young person’s well-being. But a conversation that stops there misses half the picture, and young people know it. There is opportunity to explore the ways in which online spaces can support young people as they learn, find belonging, and build communities. The challenge is to make sure those benefits are accessible while ensuring safety and well-being is at the forefront of our priorities.

When digital spaces are designed and used well, they can support the things that protect our mental health: a sense of curiosity, connection, and purpose. In tandem, a recent Redseer study examining TikTok’s impact on the UAE’s digital economy has shown that 75 percent of users across all ages surveyed reported developing personal or professional skills through the platform. Digital spaces are not only a place for creative expression, but an entry point to unexplored knowledge, inspiration and open dialogue around mental well-being.

This is visible in the conversations people are already having online. In Saudi Arabia, for example, mental well-being-related content around “self-development” between Aug. 1 and Sept. 30 generated over 26,000 posts and hundreds of millions of views. These trends show that many are actively seeking ideas, communities and habits that help them feel better, grow and make sense of their experiences.

This matters because learning and growth are not separate from well-being — they are part of it. You can teach yourself to edit video or find community around a unique interest and build confidence as well as skills. Feeling capable and connected is one of the strongest buffers we have against anxiety and isolation. The question that I consider, then, is not whether young people should be online, but how we make sure the time they spend there adds value to their lives. That responsibility is shared.

Platforms need to build safety by design, with age-appropriate experiences, strong privacy defaults, security settings and tools that help manage time. Regular policy and feature updates should be prioritized to ensure safety is being implemented across all fronts, while seeking insight from advisory councils and safety professionals to ensure the community is protected and action is taken where needed, all while aligning with the country’s regulations. The region has set a clear expectation here. In the UAE, the Federal Decree-Law on Child Digital Safety, which came into force in January, places obligations on platforms, internet service providers and caregivers alike, while a new Child Digital Safety Council will coordinate national efforts. In Egypt, the minister of communications and information technology witnessed the launch of Wa3i.net, a national initiative providing interactive digital content, data privacy guidelines and safety workshops tailored for children, parents and educators.

At the Saudi-founded Digital Cooperation Organization’s fifth General Assembly in February, member states adopted the Kuwait Declaration on Responsible AI for Global Digital Prosperity, reaffirming that digital transformation should be inclusive, trusted and scalable, while addressing risks such as inequality, bias, privacy and security. For young people, that principle is especially important: The digital world they grow up in must be designed not only for innovation, but for trust, safety and human well-being.

Families and schools matter just as much. Young people need adults who make space for regular, open conversations about what they see and experience online and who can help them navigate emotions that arise from online interactions. The need for this kind of guidance is clear: Between Aug. 1 and Sept. 30, searches around “peace of mind” rose by 55 percent, generating over 68,000 posts and hundreds of millions of views. This suggests many are looking for reassurance and guidance around their mental health. But healthy digital habits are learned through open conversations at home and in the classroom, ideally long before a problem appears and young people feel compelled to seek out the support they need on their own.

A few simple habits can help. Young people can curate what they see, following accounts that teach, inspire or make them laugh and muting those that leave them feeling worse. Regular breaks and screen-free time, particularly before sleep, give the mind room to rest. Most of all, adults should keep talking to them; a young person who feels able to share what they experience online is far better placed to ask for help when they need it.

In Saudi Arabia, this priority sits within a broader national digital transformation story. The Kingdom’s Vision 2030 agenda has placed digital transformation at the center of sectors such as healthcare, education, infrastructure and tourism. As digital services and opportunities continue to develop, helping young people build the skills and confidence to participate safely online is an important part of ensuring they can benefit from that transformation. Digital well-being should therefore be considered alongside access, innovation, and skills development.

Young people, too, deserve a voice in shaping these spaces. Youth advisory councils, which bring teens directly into conversations about online safety, well-being and platform design, offer one way to ensure their perspectives inform the policies and experiences intended to protect them. After all, they are often the first to recognize what is helping them and what is not. The most effective digital well-being efforts are built with them, rather than simply for them.

When it comes to mental health, the goal should be a generation that is not only protected online but empowered by it; curious, confident, in control of how technology fits into their lives and able to participate in a digital future built around trust, responsibility and shared prosperity.