Unveiling the Impact of Smartphones and Social Media on Children’s Wellbeing: A Government-Backed Research Initiative Begins
The pervasive presence of smartphones and social media in children’s lives has sparked widespread concern about their potential impact on mental and physical wellbeing. In response, the UK government’s Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) has commissioned a comprehensive research project to investigate this complex relationship. This initiative, led by the University of Cambridge in collaboration with several prominent UK universities including Bristol, aims to establish a robust evidence base to inform future policy decisions. The project comes in the wake of a 2019 review by the UK Chief Medical Officer that highlighted the inadequacy of existing evidence to draw definitive conclusions about the links between technology use and children’s mental health.
The research team, under the leadership of Dr. Amy Orben from the University of Cambridge’s MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit (MRC CBU), acknowledges the urgent need for evidence-based policy in this rapidly evolving digital landscape. They emphasize the importance of understanding the causal relationships between smartphone and social media use and children’s wellbeing, recognizing that both potential benefits and harms exist. The project’s focus will be on deepening the causal understanding of the effects of new technologies, especially over short timescales, enabling timely and informed policy decisions.
This multi-faceted project involves a consortium of researchers from leading UK universities, including Bristol, Bath, Birmingham, Glasgow, Manchester, Nottingham, Oxford, York, and the London School of Economics. The team will meticulously evaluate existing research on the impact of smartphones and social media on various aspects of children’s lives, including mental and physical health, lifestyle, health behaviors, and educational attainment. Recognizing the diversity of perspectives in this domain, the review will pinpoint areas where further research can contribute valuable insights.
The research team’s mandate extends beyond summarizing existing research. They will critically assess available research methods and data sources to identify approaches that can effectively establish causal relationships between technology use and child development outcomes. Given the dynamic nature of online habits and the constant emergence of new technologies, the project will consider how research methodologies can keep pace with these changes. Importantly, the researchers will also explore ways to capture the experiences of vulnerable children and young people, such as those from the LGBTQ+ community, those with special needs, and those with mental health issues, in future research projects.
Bristol’s contribution to the consortium is spearheaded by Professor Claire Haworth and Dr. Oliver Davis from the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences. Their expertise spans mental health and wellbeing, data science, and causal analysis. Professor Haworth highlights the project’s unique opportunity to leverage existing data to inform policy while simultaneously planning for future data collection and evidence synthesis. She also mentions the unique advantage of the Children of the 90s cohort, which provides a dataset of millions of Tweets linked to participants, offering valuable insights into the longitudinal relationship between social media use and mental health.
Dr. Davis underscores Bristol’s strength in artificial intelligence and data science, emphasizing the university’s capability to extract meaningful insights from large and complex datasets. He stresses the importance of moving beyond correlation to establish causation, an area where Bristol possesses world-leading expertise. This focus on causal analysis will strengthen policy recommendations and contribute to a more robust understanding of the complex interplay between technology and child development. The project’s ultimate goal is to provide a clear roadmap for future research studies, outlining how robust and causal evidence on the impact of smartphones and social media on child development factors can be generated within the next two to three years. This crucial information will empower policymakers to make informed decisions that protect and support children in the digital age. Technology Secretary Peter Kyle emphasizes the government’s commitment to creating a safe online environment for young people, highlighting the importance of this research in building a trusted evidence base for future action. This government-backed research endeavor signifies a commitment to understanding the profound influence of technology on young lives and creating a safer, more positive digital future for the next generation.
