Documentarian on diving into teens' social media worlds

The docuseries "Social Studies" reveals how social media has changed childhood by following a group of LA teenagers over a school year. These young people opened up their lives and phones in the five-part series, which begins with a two-episode premiere on Friday, Sept. 27.

It's directed by Lauren Greenfield, who's also known for documentary films like 2012's "The Queen of Versailles" and 2018's "Generation Wealth."

ABC News' Linsey Davis sat down with Greenfield to talk about being inspired to investigate teens' online lives, the pressures they're under and how some of them are fighting the addiction.

ABC NEWS: From battling bullying, navigating the pressures of constant comparison, coping with racism and exploring sexuality, social media has changed the experience of growing up for younger generations.

And in her new docuseries, "Social Studies," Emmy Award-winning filmmaker and photographer Lauren Greenfield captures a group of Los Angeles teens who open up their lives and phones to offer an intimate glimpse into how social media has redefined what it means to be a teenager today.

And joining us now is Lauren Greenfield herself. Thank you so much for joining us.

GREENFIELD: Thanks for having me.

ABC NEWS: So social media, it feels like it's infiltrated so many aspects of our lives, young and old. What made you decide you're now going to do a documentary about this?

GREENFIELD: Well, in addition to being a filmmaker and a photographer, I'm also the mother of two boys. And when I started, they were 14 and 20, and I could see that they were from completely different generations when it came to social media.

The eldest was a reader, the young one got all his news from TikTok and we had constant battles over screens. And I had been looking at youth culture in my work for 30 years. My first book, "Fast Forward: Growing Up in the Shadow of Hollywood," was about how kids are affected by the values of celebrity and image and materialism.

And I was just seeing all of these amplified to the nth-degree in the era of social media. So I wanted to go back and look at how kids were being impacted by what I think is the biggest cultural influence of our time.

ABC NEWS: And were you able to find anything that really surprised you?

GREENFIELD: So many things. I mean, first of all, the way I did the social experiment was asking the kids for permission to get access to what was in their phone. So as we were filming, we were simultaneously capturing what was in their phones. I think that's kind of a black hole for parents. For most people, we don't know what's going on in there.

So there were so many things that were revelatory. I think one of the things that surprised me the most was almost every kid said if they could live in their parents' generation before social media, they would rather have that.

ABC NEWS: For those who said they'd rather grow up in their parents' generation, what stops them from just turning it off? Is it just that addictive?

GREENFIELD: It's so addictive. Almost everybody talked about the ills and trying to get rid of it. One of the girls, Ivy, actually goes off of it. Another girl says she knows it's not safe, so she doesn't go on TikTok.

They're so smart about the process, the way the algorithm works, the way it affects them. But as Jonathan, one of the kids, says, it's our lifeline, but it's also a loaded gun. It's also the way they communicate with each other and social life, social identity. Being part of a peer group is so important for teenagers, too.

ABC NEWS: Was there anything that you learned that you felt this maybe is challenging a view that I went into this thinking?

GREENFIELD: I think I just didn't realize how common some of these things were. Like, I selected the kids based on a variety of experiences, but it wasn't until we were way deep into it that we started talking about suicidal ideation. And I was really shocked how many kids in our small group had experienced that.

Same with eating disorders. And then also just in terms of like racism, how people felt more comfortable being racist online. I guess also the way parents were not really aware of what was going on. And so the kids started helping each other.

We have one kid who is on a teen line listening group helping other kids in crisis. There's another kid who's a vigilante, standing up for both people who have been victims of racism and also sexual assault. It's almost like the kids were kind of making their own ecosystem of help in the absence of authority really stepping in.

ABC NEWS: Just 30 seconds here. What can parents do?

GREENFIELD: I think there's a lot that parents can do. Also, tech companies, also regulation. I mean, every other kind of media is regulated. So I think it's not fair to put so much pressure either on kids or on parents.

It's very hard to do this alone and say, I'm just not going to go on my phone. But I think it's great the way schools are starting to say no phones. I think parents should have discussions with their kids. We've made a parent guide, an educational curriculum that can start sparking discussion.

ABC NEWS: Very smart. Lauren, thank you so much for joining us. Really appreciate the conversation. FX's new docuseries, "Social Studies," premieres with two episodes on Friday, Sept. 27, at 10 p.m. Eastern on FX and streams the next day on Hulu.