Areas of Study

Our research strategy is focused on executing multi-methods research and disseminating what we learn through reports, publications, speaking engagements, family-focused content, and direct engagement with the tech/media and healthcare industries. 

For the tech and media industry, we seek to embed what we’re learning into the decisions leaders are making every day about product, policy, and user supports to ensure young people’s social, emotional, and mental wellbeing and overall health are at the forefront. 

For the healthcare industry, we share our findings to help clinicians better understand the impacts of interactive media on child and teen health and behavior.

Mental Health icon - flowers from a happy mind

Mental, Social, and Emotional Health

We are working to better understand how engagement with the digital ecosystem affects young people’s mental, social, and emotional health in both positive and negative ways. We aim to identify opportunities to mitigate or eliminate harms and to elevate positive experiences for short- and long-term mental health outcomes for all young people.

Prosocial Development icon - happy relationship people

Prosocial Development

Using both survey and experimental methods, we seek to identify how technology and media can be used in innovative ways to promote children’s, teens’, and young adults’ sense of belonging, prosocial behaviors, and their development of social-emotional competencies (such as empathy, self-regulation, self-awareness, social-awareness, and relationship building).

PIMU icon - speech bubble conveying chaos

Problematic Interactive Media Use (PIMU)

Through our close engagement with the Clinic for Interactive Media and Internet Disorders (CIMAID) and other speciality clinical departments at Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, we are working to identify the characteristics and risk factors of PIMU and to design intervention and treatment strategies to promote healthier media habits for youth and their families.

We are particularly interested in understanding the impacts of technology and interactive media through the lenses of  social media, video games, and artificial intelligence (AI), as these are the technologies most often used by youth and most likely to have the greatest impacts.



Research Briefs


The Digital Wellness Lab is a mission-driven organization made up of a dynamic and collaborative team of experts and thought leaders. If you are interested in joining our research or administrative team, please email us.

The Lab team gathered outside in Boston