margaret

‘It is hijacking my brain’ – a team of experts found ways to help young people addicted to social media to cut the craving

Anonymous — Thu, 15 Feb 2024 17:34:14 +0000

‘It is hijacking my brain’ – a team of experts found ways to help young people addicted to social media to cut the craving Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 02/15/2024 - 10:34

Many people have compared the addictive nature of social media to cigarettes. Checking your likes, they say, is the new smoke break. Others say the unease over social media is just the next round of moral panic about new technologies.

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Annie Margaret interviewed about the role of social media in teen self esteem

Anonymous — Fri, 05 Aug 2022 17:20:28 +0000

Annie Margaret interviewed about the role of social media in teen self esteem Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 08/05/2022 - 11:20

Watch Teaching Assistant Professor Annie Margaret talk about social media's role in the self esteem of teenagers in this webinar by Forward Together, an organization that develops resources for parent-to-youth and youth-to-youth communication and relationship building.

Margaret investigates the efficacy of specific psychotechnologies and contemplative practices as tools to counteract the negative impact of social media on our mental health and well-being. She is especially interested in social media’s effect on young women. Research suggests that this demographic has various negative mental health outcomes related to life satisfaction, happiness and anxiety. In a 2019 JAMA article, researchers stated that the surge in social media use may be at least in part to blame for the rise in suicide rates in adolescent females, which rose 151 percent from 2009 to 2019, in stark contrast to fairly consistent rates previously (1999-2009).

To address some of the underlying issues behind these disturbing trends, Margaret created a Digital Wellness Summer Program for middle-school girls that provide strategies adolescents can use to minimize the negative psychological impacts of social media.

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LIvBSzFWs4]

Watch Teaching Assistant Professor Annie Margaret talk about social media's role in teen self esteem in this webinar by Forward Together, an organization that develops resources for parent-to-youth and youth-to-youth communication and relationship building.

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ATLAS to host Fulbright scholar studying social media abstinence

Anonymous — Wed, 29 Jun 2022 21:52:52 +0000

ATLAS to host Fulbright scholar studying social media abstinence Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 06/29/2022 - 15:52

Fulbright Ireland–USA has announced that CU ��«��Ƶ’s ATLAS Institute will host Fulbright Scholar Eoin Whelan, professor of business analytics and society at the National University of Ireland, Galway, during summer 2023.

Whelan researches the impact of social media platforms such as Snapchat, Instagram, WhatsApp, and TikTok on the lives of teenagers. With evidence mounting that problematic social media use is connected with rising levels of depression, anxiety, poor self-esteem, inter-personal problems, loneliness and even suicide, Whelan aims to determine if an abstinence from social media, commonly known as a “digital detox,” is an effective intervention strategy for promoting a healthy way of life for teenagers. Supported specifically by the Fulbright Irish TechImpact Scholar Award, Whelan will work closely with ATLAS faculty member Annie Margaret, whose Digital Wellness Summer Program builds awareness of the impact of social media on mental health among middle school students, promoting a variety of interventions. His goal will be to identify which interventions are most effective.

“Fulbright saw the unique opportunity presented by Annie Margaret’s summer program and the potential societal benefit of studying the project,” says Whelan. “I’m delighted by their decision to support the work.”

Margaret said, “Having witnessed the impact of the Digital Wellness Summer Program on teens, I’m excited to quantify the positive outcomes and identify which interventions are most effective so that we can expand our reach and impact—empowering young people to develop healthy relationships with smartphones, social media, and themselves.”

Whelan is a senior lecturer in business information systems at NUI Galway, a visiting professor at the Institute d’Economie Scientifique et de Gestion, France, and a visiting researcher at Stellenbosch University, South Africa. His research explores the psychology underlying engagement with interactive digital media such as smartphones, social networking sites, fitness tracking apps, and online gambling and gaming sites, focusing on how different attributes of digital media interact with a person's motivations, personality, beliefs, cognition and situation, and how those interactions might influence outcomes such as wellbeing, conflict and performance.

His publications have appeared in Information Systems Journal, Journal of Information Technology, European Journal of Information Systems, MIT Sloan Management Review, and R&D Management. The findings of his research have also been featured in mainstream international outlets such as Forbes, Financial Times, Fortune, Reuters, Irish Independent, and the Irish Times.

Whelan serves on the editorial boards of the European Journal of Information Systems and Information & Organization and has previously led special issues in top basket information systems journals.

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