Building robust evidence-based policy for children in the digital age
The amount of time young British youth spend online has doubled in the last decade. As the ubiquity of social media and digital screens has increased, so too have concerns their use might negatively influence psychosocial development and children’s well-being. Currently, the U.K.’s public policy regarding these concerns is in flux. In line with the Digital Economy Act of 2017, governmental departments including the Department of Health & Social Care, select committees, and civil servants are now setting regulatory priorities to shape children’s digital use in the next decade. This fellowship directly addressed a critical gap between research and policy. Using Understanding Society data, cutting edge statistical techniques, and the time the fellowship afforded to fundamentally improve the evidence stakeholders will depend on when crafting youth technology policy in the U.K.. To this end, the project capitalised on Andrew’s experience producing world-leading research, advising key policymakers, and engaging the media and public to maximise the fellowship’s impact in the academic and policy domains.
Outputs
Papers
- Social media’s enduring effect on adolescent life satisfaction. Amy Orben, Tobias Dienlin, Andrew K. Przybylski, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences May 2019, 116 (21) 10226-10228; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1902058116
Policy impact
- Contributed to UK Chief Medical Officers’ commentary on screen time and social media.
- Contributed to Science Media Centre press briefing coordinated with the launch of the paper, widely covered in the UK by health and science editors.
- Work also shared with director of the PSHE, Ofcom regulators, the DCMS select committee as well as the policy arm of Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health.
