About the Initiative
There is a growing mental health crisis among adolescents that has been worsening for the last decade, and parents are greatly concerned about social media’s negative impacts on their children. Yet, when it comes to the questions parents care most about, whether social media harms adolescents and, if so, what to do about it, there is a lack of consensus. There are more questions than answers or actionable solutions. The Stanford Adolescents and Social Media Initiative aims to address this critical gap.
The initiative is led by the Social Media Lab at Stanford University. The Lab is a leader in research on the human impact of social media and has generated a body of evidence-based knowledge that continues to grow.
The Adolescents and Social Media Initiative uses evidence from the scientific literature to guide our understanding of the relationships between adolescents, social media and their well-being, with a focus on the family and providing support and resources to parents.
Centering on Parents and Adolescents
Our mission is to spotlight the day-to-day realities and challenges families experience. For that, we need every narrative, including yours. To share your story and insights and be a part of our collective effort, please email team@ssml.stanford.edu.
Sharing Knowledge and Expertise
We focus on identifying and evaluating the types of practical strategies and “hacks” for families to help adolescents stay safe and thrive online.
The initiative also hosts academic researchers, practitioners, and policymakers with the goal of better informing the discussion on how to promote positive online experiences for young people.
Our mission focuses on families. The initiative will not be complete without the voice of families. Please share with us any story, insights, experience, comments, thoughts or questions. Contact our team at asarigul@stanford.edu
