Social Media and Health Study
Researchers at Rhode Island Hospital and Brown University Health are conducting a remote research study to learn more about the different ways in which social media use may affect teens’ mental health.
Fast Facts
13-16 Years Old
Access to a Computer At Home
Compensation Provided
Conducted Nationwide
Study Background
How does social media use affect teen mental health?
We want to learn more about the different ways in which social media use may affect adolescents’ mental health. In this study, we’ll recruit teens from all over the United States to help us study how social media use is related to risk and resilience in developing brains.
Teens will participate in a total of four virtual sessions over 18 months where they will answer survey questions about their social media use, social relationships, and mental health, and complete an interview about their social media use while they view their social media pages. Additionally, in the second session, they will participate in a social media computer task while the computer tracks their eye movements. Teens will be compensated up to $225 worth of Amazon gift cards to thank them for their time and involvement in the study.
Study Background
How does social media use affect teen mental health?
We want to learn more about the different ways in which social media use may affect adolescents’ mental health. In this study, we’ll recruit teens from all over the United States to help us study how social media use is related to risk and resilience in developing brains.
Teens will participate in a total of four virtual sessions over 18 months where they will answer survey questions about their social media use, social relationships, and mental health, and complete an interview about their social media use while they view their social media pages. Additionally, in the second session, they will participate in a social media computer task while the computer tracks their eye movements. Teens will be compensated up to $225 worth of Amazon gift cards to thank them for their time and involvement in the study.
Additional Information
In this research study, we are trying to learn whether there are specific social media experiences teens engage in that may affect their risk for internalizing symptoms, using eye tracking technology. We are also trying to understand whether teens’ beliefs about social media affect how they use social media and their symptoms.
You or your teen may qualify for the study if you or they meet the following criteria.
Inclusion Criteria:
- 13-16 years old
- English speaking youth and parents
- Access to a desktop or laptop computer at home
- Eyesight is normal or corrected with contact lenses or glasses
- Interested in participating in questionnaires, computer tasks, and interviews regarding social media use
- No diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder
- No severe psychosis or developmental delay
If you are eligible, you will participate in a total of 4 virtual assessments via Microsoft Teams over 18 months. Each session will be 60-90 minutes long.
Virtual Assessments:
During the baseline assessment, as well as in each of the other 3 sessions, you will complete a series of questionnaires on a computer or laptop, including questions about demographic information, symptoms of depression and anxiety, peer and social relationships, and social media use. This will take about 30 minutes.
You will also participate in an interview about your social media use, describing each of your social media accounts (out of TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, and Snapchat) as well as your device’s “Screen Time” (for iOS) or “Digital Well-Being” (for Android) reports. This will involve you looking at your phone and any social media accounts that you have, and describing them to the interviewer. This will take about 1 hour. This will be video-taped, and video tapes will be stored in a secure location until the conclusion of the study, when they will be deleted.
Follow-Up Session:
You will also participate in a social media computer task during the 6-month follow-up session, in which you may experience both positive and negative interactions with virtual peers. You will be asked to provide a photo of yourself for the task. While you are participating in this task, the web-based embedded eye tracking program will measure where your eyes are looking on the screen, how long you are looking for, and how much your pupils dilate at different parts of the task. This procedure also will be video-taped, and again, video tapes will be stored in a secure location until the conclusion of the study, at which time they will be deleted. This task will take about 40 minutes.
Participating teens can receive up to $225 worth of Amazon gift cards for completing the entire study.
There is no cost for you or your teen to participate in our research study.
