JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Background. There has been controversy over the degree to which technology use in general, and social media exposure specifically, may be associated with adverse youth mental health outcomes. To date, studies have generally been small, exploratory; and have relied on youth self-report to characterize technology/social media use patterns. The goal of this project is to explore the associations between objectively-collected data gathered through a commercially-available app and youth mental health outcomes.

Objective:

Objective. The broad goal of this study is to characterize the association between objectively measured technology/social media use and a range of mental health related outcomes. Two specific aims will be initially addressed from this work. First, we aim to quantify the association between objectively measured smartphone use and measures of well-being. Second, we aim to differentiate engagement types – specifically the types of content consumed versus the overall time spent on the device – and their association with outcomes. Third, we aim to identify moderating factors such as age, gender, and socioeconomic status, that might influence these relationships. A secondary broad objective for this research is to establish a freely available data resource that can be accessed by qualified investigators to address a much wider range of questions in the future.

Methods:

Methods. Up to 1000 male, female, and non-binary youth ages 8-17 (inclusive) and their primary caregivers will be enrolled in the study. Youth participants must have their own, dedicated iOS or Android based smart phone or tablet, and they and their parents must be willing and able to download and install the data collection app onto their devices. The study is open to all US based participants who meet the previous two criteria. Following eConsent, participants and their caregivers will complete a range of baseline measures electronically, including assessments of psychiatric and social functioning, as well as measures of loneliness, digital stress, and disordered eating. Caregivers will be asked to provide information on health and mental health history for the participants. Youth and caregivers will then complete a similar battery of assessments one, two, and three months after baseline. Youth participants will also complete daily questions about their mood, stress, physical activity, and sleep. Youth and their caregivers will be compensated for completing measures at each time point. The data collection app gathers a wide range of daily data from the participant's device, including temporal patterns of use, number of and frequency of various app usage, social interactions within apps, and keystroke data. A wide range of analytic methods will be used to address important questions pertinent to the topic of how technology/social media use is related to mental health and wellness outcomes.

Results:

Results. Enrollment for this study started on November 13, 2024. As of March 22, 2025, a total of 64 participants and their caregivers had been consented to participate. An additional 81 children/parents have either expressed interest in participating and have been sent consent forms for review or have completed part of the consent process (eg., parent has consented, awaiting child assent). The anticipated date for initial data analysis will be in late Autumn 2025/Winter 2026; and expected publication date for initial analyses Spring 2026.

Conclusions:

Conclusions. This study will be among the largest to date to collect both objective device usage data and validated clinically relevant outcome measures. As per our Data Sharing policies, any qualified investigator will be able to access study data provided appropriate steps are followed. Clinical Trial: Clinicaltrials.gov NCT: 06664944