Welcome to Digital Youth
Nurturing young digital minds
Digital Youth introduction
Digital Youth introductionWhat does good involvement look like?
What is genuine collaboration?
Understanding risk in the digital world and collaborating with young people to help develop resilience
Being online and using social media has become integral to young people’s lives and creates both risks as well as opportunities for youth mental health. Our research, conducted in collaboration with our Young Person Advisory Group ‘Sprouting Minds’, aims to:
- understand what causes online mental health harms
- identify the biggest risks young people face
- find ways to build online resilience
- create effective online mental health support and interventions
Our research will inform how we design and regulate a safer online digital world for young people and how engaging digital interventions can increase effective youth mental health support.
Petr Slovak
Petr is a senior lecturer in Computer Science at Kings College London and a Research Fellow at Linacre College, University of Oxford. His research is positioned at the intersection of Human Centred Interaction, mental health intervention, and learning sciences. He is interested in understanding how technology can meaningfully help in supporting the development of core competencies known to promote mental health – such as self-regulation, coping with stress, or conflict resolution – in real-world contexts. Currently, his main research project focuses on the understanding of how novel digital objects (e.g., socially assistive robots) could lead to innovative intervention delivery approaches, which are embedded in the everyday lives of young children and their families.
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What our members say
What our members say 
“It is time to understand the role played by “digital engagement” in the emotional lives and mental health of adolescents, so that policymakers and practitioners can tailor their support effectively.”
— Professor Sonia Livingstone
“I have a strong interest in mental health and the impact it has on young people. Being part of Digital Youth is allowing me to use my skills and knowledge for good, and be an advocate for other young people, creating opportunities to shape their futures when it comes to mental health especially those from less represented backgrounds.”
— Sarah Doherty, Sprouting Minds Co-Chair, Co-Investigator on Digital Youth
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