Project description
Navigating teen internet usage for well-being
The extensive use of the internet has given rise to detrimental behaviours that have adverse effects on the health and well-being of individuals, especially teenagers. It is important to acknowledge and pinpoint such problematic internet use (PUI). With this in mind, the EU-funded Bootstrap project aims to mitigate the risks. It will carry out research across Europe to closely monitor the internet usage patterns of young people, identify PUI behaviours that result in harm, and devise strategies to tackle these issues. To achieve these goals, Bootstrap will employ algorithm-based models to create a digital screening and assessment platform. Additionally, the team will formulate policy toolkits that offer a comprehensive understanding of the psychological mechanisms underlying PUI and craft policy interventions accordingly.
Objective
BACKGROUND:
Adolescents are at particularly high risk for digital technology overuse, including in response to the COVID pandemic, and are therefore vulnerable for its potential harmful effects on mental health. Problematic usage of the internet (PUI) is thought to represent a marker of disrupted self-management, with major consequences for individual and societal health and wellbeing.
AIM:
Bootstrap brings together a multidisciplinary consortium aiming to initiate health and social policy and practice change designed to reduce the harmful effects of digitalization on mental health, particularly for young people.
APPROACH:
We will co-create a digital screening and assessment platform to understand which individuals are at-risk for developing PUI. Algorithm-based models will be used to predict which individual will benefit from which type of self-management intervention, and these preventative behavioral interventions will be tested for their (cost)effectiveness. Finally, we will develop a policy toolkit in co-design with stakeholders, to promote human digital rights accountability at the local, national, and European level.
IMPACT:
Bootstrap will provide unprecedented scientific knowledge on the psychological mechanisms underlying (risk for) PUI and potential interventions. Improved self-management and tools to optimize healthy internet usage will promote mental health and prevent mental ill health in adolescents, and contribute to reducing stigma. In addition, our policy toolkit will empower policy makers and private companies to (self)regulate with the intent to protect vulnerable groups. In the long run, Bootstrap will thus contribute to improving mental wellbeing across Europe and beyond.
Fields of science
Keywords
Programme(s)
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Funding Scheme
HORIZON-RIA - HORIZON Research and Innovation ActionsCoordinator
08007 Barcelona
Spain
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Participants (19)
Legal entity other than a subcontractor which is affiliated or legally linked to a participant. The entity carries out work under the conditions laid down in the Grant Agreement, supplies goods or provides services for the action, but did not sign the Grant Agreement. A third party abides by the rules applicable to its related participant under the Grant Agreement with regard to eligibility of costs and control of expenditure.
08908 L'Hospitalet De Llobregat
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45141 Essen
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1053 Budapest
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4099-002 Porto
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4610101 Herzliya
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52621 Ramat Gan
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24105 Kiel
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Legal entity other than a subcontractor which is affiliated or legally linked to a participant. The entity carries out work under the conditions laid down in the Grant Agreement, supplies goods or provides services for the action, but did not sign the Grant Agreement. A third party abides by the rules applicable to its related participant under the Grant Agreement with regard to eligibility of costs and control of expenditure.
23562 Lubeck
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10120 Tallinn
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44307 Kaunas
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89081 Ulm
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1081 HV Amsterdam
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28007 Madrid
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34000 Montpellier
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50121 Firenze
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Participation ended
3800 Victoria
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Participation ended
55122 Mainz
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QLD 4006 Herston
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69117 Heidelberg
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Partners (6)
Partner organisations contribute to the implementation of the action, but do not sign the Grant Agreement.
8006 Zurich
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Partner organisations contribute to the implementation of the action, but do not sign the Grant Agreement.
GX11 1AA Gibraltar
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
Partner organisations contribute to the implementation of the action, but do not sign the Grant Agreement.
SO17 1BJ Southampton
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Partner organisations contribute to the implementation of the action, but do not sign the Grant Agreement.
CB2 1TN Cambridge
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Partner organisations contribute to the implementation of the action, but do not sign the Grant Agreement.
SG4 9NN HITCHIN
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
Partner organisations contribute to the implementation of the action, but do not sign the Grant Agreement.
AL10 9AB Hatfield
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