**1. Introduction**

For Sexual and Gender Minority Youth (SGMY), navigating adolescence can be more difficult than for non-SGMY, as they need to incorporate norm-deviating sexual and/or gender identities in addition to typical identity formation, and might fear rejection and victimization because of this [1–4]. Disclosing their SGM-identity, 'coming out', can be seen as a key point in the identity development of these youth [5–7]. Although empirical data is scarce, it is believed that coming out goes together with an increase in psychological well-being [7].

The risk of negative comments, rejections and violence, however, complicates the process of identity disclosure [1, 4, 6, 8]. In the Netherlands, SGMY generally first realize their SGM-identity between the ages of 10 and 14 (40%), whereas the first time they generally disclose this part of their identity to someone else is between the ages of 18 and 24 (38%) [9]. The gap between realization and first coming out can be considered a period of identity concealment, in which access to social and emotional support is limited [4]. This has potential consequences for developing psychopathology, including the internalization of negative societal attitudes: internalized homoand transphobia [4, 10]. Internalized homo-and transphobia goes together with feelings of shame and alienation, and consequently the possibility of depression and anxiety [1, 11, 12].

A recent publication of a national survey on the attitudes towards sexual and gender diversity in the Netherlands shows that the fear of rejection and violence related to SGM-identity is not unfounded [13]. The amount of people having negative views towards SGM-people is decreasing. The acceptance rate, however, has stagnated. Additionally, negative views increase regarding certain subjects, related to visible expressions of SGM-identities [13]. Moreover, gender minorities are viewed less positively than sexual minorities (60% and 76%, respectively). Although these numbers show a majority of positive beliefs, it also means that about three in ten people still have negative or neutral views towards SGM-people [13].

Additionally, the amount of praise the recently released Netflix TV-show Heartstopper has received, see [14], could indicate a lack of representation of SGMpeople in traditional media (TV, movies, etc.). Research has shown the importance of having positive SGM-representation in media, as SGMY often grow up in a heteronormative society in which both implicitly, and explicitly, sexual and gender expectations are enforced on them, leaving them with feelings of incongruence with their SGMidentity [4, 15].

On social media, SGMY has found places in which they can find this representation [15]. Social media are online platforms on which users can generate content and interact with one another [16]. Common platforms among youth are Snapchat, Instagram, and YouTube [17]. Although previous research has been right to highlight possible risks of social media, such as unwanted sexual behaviors and bullying [16, 18]. It also needs to be recognized that social media is intertwined with the daily lives of youth, thus making it interesting to study what attracts them to social media [18].

Social media usage is found to have numerous positive effects on the identity development of SGMY, such as escaping from stigma and violence offline, experiencing belonging, building confidence, feeling hope, and accessing events and information [3, 19–21]. With these online experiences, SGMY can find support during the period of identity concealment [5, 15, 17, 20, 22]. Finding support is found to positively contribute to SGMY's resilience [23]. Resilience can then enable SGMY to cope with minority stress, and even thrive despite it [23, 24]. Although resilience as a framework to study the positive development of SGMY is a relatively new area of research, there is a general understanding of how it works [25, 26]. The role social media might play in developing resilience, however, has received little attention [15, 23]. Additionally, SGM-identity development in the context of resilience has not been explored, although interesting insights might be gained from it. It is important to study the lives of SGMY beyond risk, as it gives an understanding of how SGMY develops positively, despite adversities [27]. The current study will therefore focus on the contribution of social media usage by SGMY to the development of a resilient SGM-identity.

*Developing a Resilient Sexual and Gender Minority Identity Online: The Importance of Social… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.108208*
