Mechanisms of Differential Vulnerability to Social Media and Digital Technologies in Adolescence
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Cambridge
Department Name: UNLISTED
Abstract
The mental health of teenagers has decreased substantially over the last 10 years, stretching the NHS and making it important to study why this change is taking place. At the same time, teenagers lives have been impacted greatly by digital innovation. This has made many concerned that digitalisation and social media use might be decreasing adolescent mental health and well-being (Chief Medical Officer, 2019).
Firstly, this programme studies how puberty and adolescent development might boost the negative impact of social media use on adolescent well-being using. It is especially interested in whether certain cognitive changes (e.g., how much we are impacted by social rejection or influence, as well as brain development) predict a more negative impact of social media.
Secondly, this programme is interested in clinical populations, i.e., those adolescents with diagnosed mental health disorders, as social media is a concern for these populations specifically (RCPsych, 2019). We will mix interview and survey studies to understand how social media impacts mental health in these populations, and whether they use social media in different ways. This will allow this research programme to understand which concerns about social media use negatively impacting mental health occur across different diagnoses and which are disorder-specific (e.g., eating disorder content).
Firstly, this programme studies how puberty and adolescent development might boost the negative impact of social media use on adolescent well-being using. It is especially interested in whether certain cognitive changes (e.g., how much we are impacted by social rejection or influence, as well as brain development) predict a more negative impact of social media.
Secondly, this programme is interested in clinical populations, i.e., those adolescents with diagnosed mental health disorders, as social media is a concern for these populations specifically (RCPsych, 2019). We will mix interview and survey studies to understand how social media impacts mental health in these populations, and whether they use social media in different ways. This will allow this research programme to understand which concerns about social media use negatively impacting mental health occur across different diagnoses and which are disorder-specific (e.g., eating disorder content).
Technical Summary
Adolescent mental health has declined substantially in the last decade (Sadler et. al, 2018), stretching health services and making the area a medical research priority (MRC, 2019). Concurrently, widespread digital innovation has radically altered child and adolescent behaviour (91% of 12-15 year-olds now own a smartphone; Ofcom, 2021). This has spurred pervasive concern that digitalisation and social media use might be decreasing adolescent mental health and well-being (Chief Medical Officer, 2019). This research programme provides a step-change to this societally-important topic, by pioneering a three work packages rooted in the MRC CBU’s research tradition of taking an applied problem, distilling theories and measures, defining neurocognitive mechanisms, and translating findings back to applied contexts.
WP1: The central focus of this work package is to pioneer the study of neurocognitive mechanisms that link social media use to decreases in mental health and well-being using secondary datasets and targeted data collection. The programme will investigate whether stages of pubertal development predict heightened sensitivity to social media. Further it will explore whether neurocognitive changes occurring throughout adolescence (e.g., heightened social influence and reward sensitivity, along with development of relevant brain networks) are predictive of more negative relations between social media use and mental health.
WP2: This work package will investigate maladaptive social media use in clinical populations, an area of substantial concern where pre-existing theoretical approaches can substantially inform discovery science and translation (RCPsych, 2019). While big data studies allow for rigorous statistical modelling, their variables can be superficial; in contrast, qualitative research collects rich data but often lacks generalisable hypothesis testing. To build a solid foundation for this innovative line of research, this package will bring together the strengths of both approaches. A qualitative study will examine how adolescents with lived experience and clinicians perceive social media to impact their mental health or the mental health of their patients respectively. A quantitative study of the MHYPE dataset will complement this by testing whether specific patterns of social media use are indicative of an adolescent having any, or a specific, clinically-diagnosable mental health disorder. This will allow this research programme to understand which concerns about social media use negatively impacting mental health are transdiagnostic (e.g. the ‘always on’ nature of social media) and which are disorder-specific (e.g. eating disorder content). Subsequently, this work package will progress to more detailed investigations using theoretical and cognitive approaches to understand the mechanisms behind how social media exacerbates disordered mental health.
WP3: For investigations in WP1 and WP2 to be successful, this research programme needs to focus on concrete and measurable components of social media use. This programme will therefore go beyond the commonly-used, abstract and unreliable self-report measures of time spent on social media, to directly measure activities in and features of digital spaces. WP3 will develop two supporting methodologies: smartphone-based data collection and digital data donation.
WP1: The central focus of this work package is to pioneer the study of neurocognitive mechanisms that link social media use to decreases in mental health and well-being using secondary datasets and targeted data collection. The programme will investigate whether stages of pubertal development predict heightened sensitivity to social media. Further it will explore whether neurocognitive changes occurring throughout adolescence (e.g., heightened social influence and reward sensitivity, along with development of relevant brain networks) are predictive of more negative relations between social media use and mental health.
WP2: This work package will investigate maladaptive social media use in clinical populations, an area of substantial concern where pre-existing theoretical approaches can substantially inform discovery science and translation (RCPsych, 2019). While big data studies allow for rigorous statistical modelling, their variables can be superficial; in contrast, qualitative research collects rich data but often lacks generalisable hypothesis testing. To build a solid foundation for this innovative line of research, this package will bring together the strengths of both approaches. A qualitative study will examine how adolescents with lived experience and clinicians perceive social media to impact their mental health or the mental health of their patients respectively. A quantitative study of the MHYPE dataset will complement this by testing whether specific patterns of social media use are indicative of an adolescent having any, or a specific, clinically-diagnosable mental health disorder. This will allow this research programme to understand which concerns about social media use negatively impacting mental health are transdiagnostic (e.g. the ‘always on’ nature of social media) and which are disorder-specific (e.g. eating disorder content). Subsequently, this work package will progress to more detailed investigations using theoretical and cognitive approaches to understand the mechanisms behind how social media exacerbates disordered mental health.
WP3: For investigations in WP1 and WP2 to be successful, this research programme needs to focus on concrete and measurable components of social media use. This programme will therefore go beyond the commonly-used, abstract and unreliable self-report measures of time spent on social media, to directly measure activities in and features of digital spaces. WP3 will develop two supporting methodologies: smartphone-based data collection and digital data donation.
Publications
Anvari F
(2023)
Not All Effects Are Indispensable: Psychological Science Requires Verifiable Lines of Reasoning for Whether an Effect Matters.
in Perspectives on psychological science : a journal of the Association for Psychological Science
Ghai S
(2022)
Social media and adolescent well-being in the Global South.
in Current opinion in psychology
Kievit RA
(2022)
Using large, publicly available data sets to study adolescent development: opportunities and challenges.
in Current opinion in psychology
Leightley D
(2022)
Maximizing the positive and minimizing the negative: Social media data to study youth mental health with informed consent.
in Frontiers in psychiatry
Livingstone S
(2023)
Debate: Should academics collaborate with digital companies to improve young people's mental health?
in Child and adolescent mental health
Mc Crosky J
(2021)
Using Browser Data to Understand Desires to Spend Time Online
Related Projects
Project Reference | Relationship | Related To | Start | End | Award Value |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
MC_UU_00030/1 | 01/04/2022 | 31/03/2027 | £2,366,000 | ||
MC_UU_00030/2 | Transfer | MC_UU_00030/1 | 01/04/2022 | 31/03/2027 | £2,141,000 |
MC_UU_00030/3 | Transfer | MC_UU_00030/2 | 01/04/2022 | 31/03/2027 | £1,964,000 |
MC_UU_00030/4 | Transfer | MC_UU_00030/3 | 01/04/2022 | 31/03/2027 | £2,535,000 |
MC_UU_00030/5 | Transfer | MC_UU_00030/4 | 01/04/2022 | 31/03/2027 | £2,771,000 |
MC_UU_00030/6 | Transfer | MC_UU_00030/5 | 01/04/2022 | 31/03/2027 | £2,242,000 |
MC_UU_00030/7 | Transfer | MC_UU_00030/6 | 01/04/2022 | 31/03/2027 | £1,219,000 |
MC_UU_00030/8 | Transfer | MC_UU_00030/7 | 01/04/2022 | 31/03/2027 | £2,464,000 |
MC_UU_00030/9 | Transfer | MC_UU_00030/8 | 01/04/2022 | 31/03/2027 | £2,753,000 |
MC_UU_00030/10 | Transfer | MC_UU_00030/9 | 01/04/2022 | 31/03/2027 | £1,898,000 |
MC_UU_00030/11 | Transfer | MC_UU_00030/10 | 01/04/2022 | 31/03/2027 | £2,148,000 |
MC_UU_00030/12 | Transfer | MC_UU_00030/11 | 15/10/2021 | 31/03/2027 | £1,375,000 |
MC_UU_00030/13 | Transfer | MC_UU_00030/12 | 01/11/2021 | 31/03/2027 | £1,261,000 |
MC_UU_00030/14 | Transfer | MC_UU_00030/13 | 01/04/2022 | 31/03/2027 | £1,238,000 |
MC_UU_00030/15 | Transfer | MC_UU_00030/14 | 01/04/2022 | 31/03/2027 | £2,102,000 |
Description | Citation in US Surgeon General Report |
Geographic Reach | North America |
Policy Influence Type | Citation in other policy documents |
Impact | Allowed for a more nuanced approach by US Surgeon General to social media use and adolescent health |
Description | National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine: Report Paper Committee on the Impact of Social Media on the Health Effects of Adolescent and Children, January 2023, Online |
Geographic Reach | North America |
Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
Impact | I provided evidence about what should be done about social media use in the public |
Description | Public Health Agency of Canada, November 2022, Online |
Geographic Reach | North America |
Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
Impact | Public Health Agency of Canada, November 2022, Online |
Description | CERES: Connecting the EdTech Research EcoSystem |
Amount | SFr. 10,000,000 (CHF) |
Organisation | Jacobs Foundation |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | Switzerland |
Start | 05/2021 |
End | 05/2026 |
Description | Harnessing digital data to study 21st-century adolescence |
Amount | £173,717 (GBP) |
Organisation | Medical Research Council (MRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 04/2023 |
End | 10/2024 |
Description | Understanding the impact of digital parenting across diverse family ecologies |
Amount | £30,168 (GBP) |
Organisation | Economic and Social Research Council |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 04/2022 |
End | 05/2023 |
Description | Computational Modelling using Social Media Data |
Organisation | Stanford University |
Country | United States |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | We are working together to fit computational models to twitter data |
Collaborator Contribution | Provision of twitter data, data linkage, expertise in computational modelling |
Impact | 2 Grant applications have resulted from this collaboration |
Start Year | 2023 |
Description | Computational Modelling using Social Media Data |
Organisation | University of Bristol |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | We are working together to fit computational models to twitter data |
Collaborator Contribution | Provision of twitter data, data linkage, expertise in computational modelling |
Impact | 2 Grant applications have resulted from this collaboration |
Start Year | 2023 |
Description | Computational Modelling using Social Media Data |
Organisation | École Normale Supérieure, Paris |
Country | France |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | We are working together to fit computational models to twitter data |
Collaborator Contribution | Provision of twitter data, data linkage, expertise in computational modelling |
Impact | 2 Grant applications have resulted from this collaboration |
Start Year | 2023 |
Description | Data Donation |
Organisation | Utrecht University |
Country | Netherlands |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | We are working on bringing data donation methodology to the UK |
Collaborator Contribution | They are providing expertise in data donation |
Impact | We have had one successful grant application |
Start Year | 2023 |
Description | 2 press releases |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Two press releases that led to large-scale coverage |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022,2023 |
Description | A talk for students and teachers for the BeeWell PRoject |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | BeeWell Project worshop with Greater Manchester Schools |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | Advisory Panels |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | We conducted advisory panels with groups of parents and groups of young people to inform an upcoming study into digital parenting. We conducted a first session to obtain feedback on a digital parenting scale, and how the items reflected lived experience as a digital parent or a teen in the digital age. We used the discussions from this first advisory panel to generate a study design which we presented to the same panel ~1 month later, and discussed whether this design would capture what parents and teens want to find out, and whether it would shed light on current unknowns. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
Description | At least 10 interviews with different media programmes and journalists |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | I gave at least 10 interviews to journalists over the course of 2022-23 |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022,2023 |
Description | BrainBus - Neuroscience outreach to local primary schools |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | Brainbus is an initiative run by the Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit to introduce local primary school children to neuroscience and inspire the next generation of scientists. Research Intern in Dr Amy Orben's group has taken part in two brainbus outreach events. ~60 pupils attended a visit in November 2022 and ~90 pupils attended a visit in January 2023. Pupils took part in various activities, such as matching animals to different model brains, and taking turns being experimenters and participants on Stroop tasks and rubber hand illusions. At the start and end of the session, pupils were asked what science is and what scientists are, and the team were able to observe changes in these responses as the pupils learned more about who neuroscientists are, what they do, and how they can do it too. These activities sparked many questions for the children, and the brainbus team encouraged this curiosity and explained complex concepts using accessible terms. Teachers reported that the sessions were inspiring, engaging and age-appropriate. The two schools attended expressed their interest for the brainbus team to return and reach wider audiences within their schools. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022,2023 |
Description | Design Remedies Salon Series with the Public Tech Leader Collaborative |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | The Public Technology Leadership Collaborative (PTLC) is trying to foster peer learning and co-problem solving among academic researchers and government leaders focused on issues at the intersection of technology and society. Amanda Ferguson participated in two panels with 15 academics and 15 policy makers from the United States, discussions were related to reducing digital harms and crafting effective policy and regulations related to technology. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | Interview for National News |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
Results and Impact | Georgia Turner gave an interview for a journalist from Business Insider, who was writing a feature piece about a new mobile App called 'one sec' which aims to help people reduce the time they spend on unproductive Apps on their phone. She answered several questions about this App, and about mobile phone habits and addiction more generally. The article has not been published yet. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
Description | Interview for News Outlet |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Amanda Fergusson interviewed for an article in Cosmopolitan magazine related to social media trends. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
Description | Interview for US company |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Georgia Turner gave an interview for the Social Institute for their blog, about student wellbeing and social media and the scientific evidence behind it. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
Description | Oral evidence to committee |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | Gave oral evidence to a panel about social media use and adolescent mental health at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
Description | Panel Discussion (Warwick China Development Society) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
Results and Impact | Georgia Turner spoke in a panel discussion hosted by Warwick Undergraduate China Development Society, along with 4 other speakers: Prof Sanjay Sharma, Dr Maxi Heitmayer, Sam Zia and Jiannan Shi. The discussion topic was 'Do new technologies and social media encourage or stifle free choice and critical thinking?'. The discussion was followed by a Q&A from undergraduate students. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
URL | https://www.instagram.com/p/Cky2btGtTFj/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y= |
Description | Podcast interview on social media use and mental health |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Luisa Fassi was interviewed for a podcast on her research regarding social media use and youth mental health |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
URL | https://open.spotify.com/episode/6PIir3NsiUEVjr0sBkri1C?si=89dc10728cab4dba |
Description | Podcast on social media use and mental health |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Luisa Fassi was invited on the Science Rehashed podcast to discuss her research on social media use and youth mental health |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
URL | https://open.spotify.com/episode/5sQPBjQvDqqsWUWYSS7AdF?si=0cc1da50096445ec |
Description | School Visit (Oxford) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | Luisa Fassi visited a school in Oxford with 60-80 pupils to discuss my research on social media use and adolescents' mental health. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | Talk at European Science Open Forum |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Part of a panel at the remote European Science Open Forum |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | Talk at Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (HMC) 2022 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | Talk at Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (HMC) 2022 |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | Talks at various departments and events for academics |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | 6 talks held for academics at the Royal Society, Cardiff University, Max Plank Institute for Demographic Research, Harvard T H Chan School of Public Health, Institute for Cognitive Neuroscience and University of California Irvine. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022,2023 |
Description | Took part in 2 podcasts |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
Results and Impact | I took part in two podcasts |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022,2023 |
Description | Workshop by the Public Health Agency of Canada |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | I took part in a series of workshops for members of the Public Health Agency of Canada |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022,2023 |