A research team from the Psychology Centre of the University of Porto (CPUP) and CIIE is working with students from three Portuguese schools to develop an application that aims to reduce the harmful impact of digitalisation on adolescents’ mental health.

The initiative is part of the European project BootStRaP (Boosting societal adaptation and mental health in a rapidly digitalising, post-pandemic Europe). It has so far involved students from school groups in Alfena, Águas Santas and Maia. The unique nature of the initiative is based on the active participation of young people in the creation of the study’s resources, ensuring ethical and safe involvement in all stages of the research process.

According to Célia Sales, the researcher responsible for implementing BootStRaP in Portugal, ‘the main aim is to help young people manage how they healthily use the Internet. We will create an app for teenagers between 12 and 16 that warns the user when they’re at risk or using the Internet unsafely. It also offers them an intervention programme to help change that use.’

Specifically, the application sends questions about the user’s well-being and mood. It also evaluates parameters recorded by mobile phones, such as the time spent using the Internet and interacting with content. These indicators will help the research team understand behaviour patterns and determine how and when they can harm health.

Carolina Cordeiro, a researcher at CPUP, emphasises the innovative nature of the project ‘which gives young people an active voice, involving them in the various stages of the research process, from the conception of the project, through the development of the application, to the recruitment of other colleagues’.

Teresa Silva Dias, a CIIE researcher, emphasises the importance of ‘creating national, international and multidisciplinary collaborative networks that involve different agents who benefit from the development of BootStRaP - young people, parents and teachers as researchers and participants. It’s a project based on the concept of Citizen Science, with an impact on policies related to young people’s mental health and internet use.’

Tomás Rodrigues, one of the students who is an ambassador for the project in the Maia school group, said that this study could benefit our future. The tasks are simple and easy to complete. They are also a small way of reflecting on my day.’

The project will also make it possible to map how young people use the Internet into account the data collected,  draw up international guidelines for healthier Internet use, define how behavioural changes on a personal level can reduce risks and help prevent possible problematic Internet use in the future.

The European Commission’s HORIZON-HLTH-2022-STAYHLTH-01-01 programme funds the five-year project and has received support from the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport, administrations, teachers, parents and young people. Around 1,200 Portuguese teenagers are estimated to participate in the study.