Smart Socials and the Digital Youth

ESRC Festival of Social Science LogoSmart Socials and the Digital Youth

As part of the ESRC Festival of Social Science we are hosting a series of workshops focusing on the risks, benefits and opportunities of children’s and adolescents’ social media use. We are joined by our collaborators on this event from the Surrey Community Foundation, Surrey Youth Focus, and the Eikon Charity.

1. Living in the online world

This workshop, led by Prof Dawn Watling, focused on understanding the concerns and how we might take the perspective of a young person to promote positive use of social media.

2. Connecting the dots: Looking beyond time spent online

Gemma Rides and Zain Khan (PhD candidates) showcased current research on social media and mental health, focusing on how social media elicits both positive and negative outcomes depending on online behaviours.

3. Breaking down Social Media: The good, the bad, the ugly

Dr Beatrice Hayes discussed risks and benefits of youth (aged 7-18 years) social media use, talking about her research findings.

4. Co-creating social media literacy

Dr Yvonne Skipper introduced an intervention that she co-created with young people to help detect misinformation online (Project REAL).

5. Smart Socials and the Digital Youth [in person event]

The ECHO-O Lab will be disseminating important findings from across 8 years of research, and ongoing research. We aim for practitioners to be able to utilise our findings within their practice. We also encourage practitioners to share their own expertise, skills and experience.

Community Foundation for Surrey