Technology provides unlimited opportunities for social interactions during a critical period when the brain is especially sensitive. The Winston Center uses multi-modal, longitudinal data analysis to investigate changes in teenage brain development associated with technology use. This includes how social media impacts the behavior of teenagers as it relates to body image, depression, and sleep habits.
SWS investigates college students’ relationships with their smartphones. As digital media delivers a consistent stream of rewarding stimuli, heavy use has the potential to dysregulate neurobiological reward processing systems and result in withdrawal symptoms.
The main objective of SWS is to characterize neurocognitive digital withdrawal symptoms following a period of digital media abstinence in college students. We are examining brain function and withdrawal symptoms before and after 24 hours of digital media abstinence.
Project SUPER Brain explores the impact of technology and social media use on adolescent well-being. This longitudinal, large-scale study aims to understand how adolescents interact with their peers and how these interactions relate to their adjustment, health risk behaviors, and technology use. By analyzing neural network connectivity, the project investigates how devices and social media use impact teenage brain development and mental health.
Nearly 300 elementary and middle schoolers have completed their initial round of data collection. We plan to continue to follow up with these participants.
Project Neuroteen and Teen Transition Project
Project Neuroteen examines technology use and brain development within a large sample of adolescents who were assessed annually over the course of six waves. Research questions include the examination of neural correlates of adolescents’ technology exposure, the study of youths’ decision-making while engaged in technology-mediated social interactions, and individual differences in neural connectivity that may be associated with specific types of technology use.
The Teen Transition Project focuses on understanding the role of social media and technology use across adolescents’ social networks. Conducted as a large, school-based study, it examines how social media behaviors influence social dynamics, well-being, and development. By analyzing technology use across peer groups, the project aims to uncover patterns in how teens engage with digital platforms and how these interactions shape their social experiences during key developmental transitions.
We have enrolled over 800 students (50% non-White) from a rural region in the US Southeast to participate in a multi-wave 6 year longitudinal study. Our research includes an examination of social-psychological factors that may be associated with adolescents’ tech use, including the time they spend on various tech platforms, the social functions served by tech use, tech-related stressors, and their behaviors when interacting on social media. Our research includes adolescents’ and peers’ own reports as well as observational coding of adolescents’ social media profiles. In addition, this research includes a remote assessment, including ecological-momentary assessment, of tech use during the COVID pandemic to understand adolescents’ daily technology use, and variation in mood, social connection, and engagement in maladaptation.
STRIVE: Sexuality, Technology, and Relationships in the Virtual Era
STRIVE aims to understand how digital sexual communication is associated with relationship quality, sexual health behaviors, and sexual well-being. We have collected data from young adults between the ages 18 and 21, and a follow-up study is in progress.
WAVE: Well-being and Adolescents’ Virtual Experiences
WAVE aims to move beyond “screen time” to illuminate the costs and benefits of specific online experiences. We collected data from high school students who participated in WAVE through the Character Lab Research Network.
FACES: Family Associations with Connected Environments and Self-Perceptions
FACES examines how early adolescents and their parents use social media, and how that may relate to body image concerns. Adolescents and their parents will engage in a video chat task while wearing eye-tracking glasses to assess where they are looking during the task.
SMILE: Smartphone Interactions and Learning Experiences
SMILE will examine the effects of school cell phone bans on mental health and academic outcomes. We are collecting data from middle and high schools around the country.