Background: Adolescents and young adults (AYAs) with cancer use social media in unique ways throughout treatment. The purpose of this article is to describe the social media experiences of AYAs with cancer as a means of exploring the potential impact of social media on AYA psychosocial development after diagnosis and throughout cancer treatment. Methods: Seven AYAs treated for cancer, aged 15–20 years, completed a semi-structured interview regarding their social media preferences and habits. Each interview was transcribed verbatim and de-identified. Data were coded and themes were identified via latent thematic analysis. Results: Four themes emerged regarding social media experiences for AYAs with cancer: (1) changes in audience and feedback after diagnosis; (2) attitudes about body image and peer support; (3) control over personal, familial, and societal messages about illness; and (4) maintaining normalcy despite hospital stressors. Discussion: Social media appear especially useful for promoting social and identity development as AYAs undergo cancer treatment. Specifically, social media provide spaces to negotiate body image and sense of self, to manage peer relationships, to reclaim control and independence, and to maintain normalcy. Understanding these experiences will prepare healthcare providers and caregivers to assess ongoing psychosocial development and adjustment throughout cancer treatment.

背景：患有癌症的青少年 (AYAs) 在整个治疗过程中以独特的方式使用社交媒体。本文的目的是描述 AYA 患有癌症的社交媒体体验，以此作为探索社交媒体对 AYA 诊断后和整个癌症治疗过程中社会心理发展的潜在影响的一种手段。方法：七名年龄在 15-20 岁之间接受癌症治疗的 AYA 完成了关于他们社交媒体偏好和习惯的半结构化访谈。每一次采访都被逐字转录和去标识化。通过潜在主题分析对数据进行编码并确定主题。结果：关于 AYA 癌症患者的社交媒体体验，出现了四个主题：(1) 诊断后受众和反馈的变化；(2) 对身体形象和同伴支持的态度；(3) 控制有关疾病的个人、家庭和社会信息；(4) 尽管有医院压力，但仍保持正常。讨论：随着 AYA 接受癌症治疗，社交媒体似乎对促进社交和身份发展特别有用。具体而言，社交媒体提供了协商身体形象和自我意识、管理同伴关系、重新获得控制权和独立性以及保持常态的空间。了解这些经验将使医疗保健提供者和护理人员准备好评估整个癌症治疗过程中正在进行的心理社会发展和调整。