A school-based intervention to increase awareness and reflection on the use of social media among Norwegian adolescents
Main content
The evidence for the overall effect of social media (SOME) use on mental health and well-being is mixed. Interventions to reduce negative aspects and promote positive aspects of SOME use could positively influence adolescents' mental health and well-being, but few evidence-based interventions are available. We have therefore developed a school-based intervention to promote positive and health-promoting use of SOME. The intervention is developed by Bergen Municipality in collaboration with the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH), Vestland County Council and the University College of Western Norway in close collaboration with students and teachers at local schools. The intervention consists of thematic teaching and class discussions, where the goal is to increase awareness and reflection related to SOME use, and how this might affect oneself and others.
The aims of PhD projects are to
1) scientifically describe the intervention and present findings from a pilot carried out in 2021 where two project schools (330 students and 30 teachers) tested the intervention (process evaluation)
2) assess the potential impact of the intervention, which will be carried out among over 1200 students in Vestland in the autumn of 2023 (main evaluation).
Quantitative data is used to assess whether students and teachers experience the theme-based learning as useful, relevant, and engaging (process evaluation and main evaluation), as well as to explore any effects over time (main evaluation). In the main evaluation, the students will be asked several questions about their use of SOME, and the main outcome is whether they experience SOME as a stressor. Qualitative data based on focus group interviews with both teachers (n = 7) and students (n = 10) from the pilot schools will elaborate on how the measure was received and implemented, but also provide an opportunity to gain insight into what should be changed and how the theme-based teaching can be improved (process evaluation). Additional focus group interviews with students are planned as part of the main evaluation so that we better can understand the adolescents’ experience of any effects.
More information about the project can be found here:
https://www.bergen.kommune.no/hvaskjer/tema/ung-pa-sosiale-medier