New study will assess impact of digital tech on young people

The work is being carried out by scientists from Heriot-Watt University, alongside partners at Edinburgh University and a European consortium led by German research institute FTK.

Focusing on young people aged 10-24 years, the research will examine how our rapidly changing society has created additional digital stressors.

Dr Mel McKendrick from Heriot-Watt University explained that the study will examine stress from digitalisation, looking at it from the user’s perspective to better understand changes in mental state, treatment, and self-management.

The project is funded by Horizon Europe with just under €1m of the total funding supporting the UK research partners. Similar pilot studies will take place in Germany, Italy, Spain, Slovenia, Cyprus, and Poland using the same approach. It’s anticipated the new research will help practitioners and individuals to better monitor and manage emotional well-being in young people.

Experts from psychology and engineering specialties will work alongside clinicians and gaming experts, to develop ways to measure the impact of direct and indirect stressors. These include 24/7 news cycles, world events, social media, and cyberbullying. The team will use gamification techniques to explore ways to help practitioners and individuals to process these stressors and manage their well-being.