Transforming Technology

Photo: Bethany Teachman and Nancy Deutsch

This article was originally published in Envision, a UVA publication that highlights the landscape of philanthropic impact.

The prevalence of social media use and reliance on digital technologies are commonly blamed for rising rates of anxiety, depression, and other mental health difficulties among youth—yet questions remain about the true impact of this engagement with digital technology, particularly on the well-being of young people.

Seeking answers is the focus of one Grand Challenges initiative at UVA. The University’s 2030 Plan identifies five priority focus areas for research that represent major societal challenges and opportunities, and investments in these have created new opportunities in the UVA research community to work together across disciplines to move the needle in addressing the world’s urgent challenges.

Enter the Thriving Youth in a Digital Environment (TYDE) initiative, co-directed by Nancy Deutsch, associate dean for faculty development at the School of Education and Human Development and the Linda K. Bunker Professor of Education, and Bethany Teachman, professor and director of clinical training in the Department of Psychology. TYDE is working to bring together researchers across Grounds to examine both the impact of youth interaction with digital technology on healthy youth development as well as its potential to support intervention and prevention solutions.

“We’re building the research infrastructure and making sure that we're disseminating the knowledge to policymakers, to parents, to educators, to mental health clinicians, and to young people—and also including those stakeholders in the process,” Deutsch said.

Evidence or Anecdote?

As both Deutsch and Teachman point out, media coverage and informal conversations about young people’s consumption and interaction with digital technology often centers around the negative impacts of social media without considering the positive opportunities available in these interactive arenas. Digital interventions focusing on how technology—including social media—can help young people cultivate community and alleviate loneliness tend to get less notice in popular culture.

What does the research say? Well, it’s complicated.

“People read the data differently,” said Teachman. “How we move this conversation forward and increase research capacity and do that research in more effective ways will get us better answers to these critical questions.”

“We do a disservice when we try to lump everything together and not think about the ways in which different technologies have different strengths and weaknesses or different benefits,” Deutsch added. “We need to understand more—not just about amount of use but about the differences between types of technologies and forms of use, as well as individual differences between teens in what kinds of use may be harmful versus helpful and under what conditions.”    

To help propel these conversations, TYDE partnered with UVA’s Youth-Nex Research Center to host a two-day conference focused on how youth are using technology in their day-to-day lives, digital technologies’ potential role in youth mental health equity, and how policy makers are thinking about digital technology in relation to supporting healthy youth development. Presenters included Virginia General Assembly Delegate Laura Jane Cohen; Dr. Vaile Wright of the American Psychological Association; social psychologist and author Dr. Jonathan Haidt; and professors from UVA and other prestigious universities across the country.

Importantly, the conference also kicked off with a panel of youth presenters who shared their experiences and perspectives on the issues. Some were a part of a summer program and worked with UVA undergraduates in partnership with Light House Studio, which aims to equip young people with the skills and confidence to tell their stories and build community through collaborative filmmaking.

“One of the things that’s really great about TYDE,” Deutsch said, “is that undergraduates are both part of the youth that we’re talking about—they are included in the age frame that we are concerned about in terms of the research—and they’re also part of the community we're building as we think about how we train people to engage in this research.”

One of these undergraduates is Marian Herboso, a fourth-year in the psychology department’s Distinguished Majors Program. After receiving a summer fellowship through TYDE in which she performed research under the guidance of her advisor, she developed a focus-group study to drive her thesis project. The summer funding, she said, was invaluable.

“I was able to do things that research assistants usually wouldn’t, and it’s increased my love for research,” Marian said. “I’m so excited to see what kinds of results I’m going to get. The experience has really confirmed for me that this is something I can see myself doing in the future.”

Fueling the Future

TYDE is currently encouraging applications for seed funding for projects aligned with this Grand Challenge, offering large and small grants for faculty as well as student research grants. The initiative also provides up to two years of funding for postdoctoral fellowships and support for those exploring funding opportunities outside of the University.

“Fundamentally, we're facing lots of unknowns in this space,” said Deutsch. “It’s a massive challenge that we face as a society, but it’s also a massive opportunity.”