SMART · Social Media Artistic tRaining in Teenagers

Social Media Artistic tRaining in Teenagers

The digital age has transformed how we interact with technology, with over 60% of the global population using the internet and more than 5 billion people having social media accounts. This digital immersion starts remarkably early –some reports show 10% of 1-year-olds already experiencing regular exposure to digital devices. By adolescence, many teens report using social media "almost constantly" (7 hours per day, on average). Research reveals concerning links between excessive smartphone/social media use during youth development and negative cognitive and emotional outcomes. These include impaired impulse control, diminished executive functions, reduced cognitive flexibility, poor emotional regulation, low self-esteem, and decreased academic performance. These issues can potentially develop into anxiety and depression disorders persisting into adulthood. However, social media's impact is not universally negative. Benefits include promoting healthy habits, fostering creativity, building supportive communities, and facilitating skill acquisition. The relationship between well-being and social media usage thus appears to be complex, influenced by individual differences, usage patterns (passive vs. active engagement), content type, and demographic variables. Neuroimaging studies, primarily conducted with adults, suggest that excessive social media use affects brain regions involved in reward processing and executive functions, including the amygdala, ventral striatum, and prefrontal cortex. Moderate use, conversely, may enhance connectivity between reward-related areas and those governing executive functions. Interestingly, art-based interventions have demonstrated positive effects on the very neural networks negatively impacted by social media overuse. Engagement with visual arts and music has been shown to enhance connectivity in critical brain structures and pathways, potentially improving cognitive performance across domains like memory, attention, creativity, and emotional control. The SMART (Social Media Artistic tRaining in Teenagers) project thus aims to investigate whether 3 months of artistic appreciation and practice can positively alter how teenagers interact with social media, and whether digital arts-based interventions can mitigate the negative influences of digital devices and social media platforms on youth’s mental health. These artistic interventions also contain a component of critical thinking around social media, trying to transform the way teens use these platforms into a more intellectual, goal-oriented, and hopefully creative or arts-related usage.

Data: CORDIS, © European Union