Is your child about to receive their first smartphone?
Help researchers understand how social media affects adolescent mental health. Families receive a smartphone and $200 for taking part.
Embedded Files
Overview
Overview
This research aims to shed light on crucial aspects of adolescent mental health in relation to social media use. The study team will assign half of all adolescents to restricted social media access for the first 6 months after they receive their first phone and monitor changes in mental health and behavior. The study is funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and conducted at Georgetown University.
Eligibility
Eligibility
✔️ Children aged 10-14 years old who are about to receive their first smartphone.
✔️ Parental consent (both parents if custody is shared.)
✔️ The child’s willingness to participate in study activities.
✔️ No history of self-harm ideation, severe developmental diagnoses, or severe mental health problems.
How It Works & Compensation
How It Works & Compensation
Before enrolling in the study, you and your child will attend a brief virtual interview with a study coordinator, which will take approximately 30 minutes.
Your child may be assigned to either naturalistic or restricted social media access for 3 months.
The study will monitor your child’s daily mental health and mobile device activity across approximately 6 months.
Additional benefits
Additional benefits
Receive a free study phone for your child that they can keep upon successfully completing the study
Hands-on help with parental controls
Our team sits down with you and sets them up on your child’s new phone.
A contribution to research on social media and well-being
Your child’s experience helps shape future guidance and policy.
Common Questions
Common Questions
Can I choose which group my child is in?
No. Group placement is random; a 50/50 chance. Either way, you stay in control of what your child can access, and any restriction lasts only 3 months.
Will I see my child’s mental-health data?
No. We never share individual responses. Results are reported only in combined, anonymized form.
When’s the best time to enroll?
Please reach out to us via email us at adolescentsocialmedia@georgetown.edu, and we will help you plan your enrollment.
Kostadin Kushlev, PhD
Buying a first phone for your child is a big milestone, and a big question for any parent. How much should they use it? Which apps are fine? How does social media fit into a healthy childhood? These are the questions Dr. Kostadin Kushlev and the Happy Tech Lab at Georgetown University are working to answer, and we would love for your family to be part of it.
Dr. Kushlev is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Georgetown University. His research has been published in journals including Psychological Science and covered by The New York Times, Forbes, The Economist, The Wall Street Journal, NBC News, PBS, and The Washington Post.
With funding from the National Institute of Mental Health, Dr. Kushlev is running a first-of-its-kind social media study that follows kids aged 10 to 14 through their first months with a smartphone. What we learn will help shape the guidance parents get and give families everywhere a clearer, evidence-based picture of how social media and smartphones affect kids, and how to make them work for your family.
Your family's information is never shared individually. All results are reported in combined, anonymized form.
Questions? Email adolescentsocialmedia@georgetown.edu
Report abuse