A one day conference at the University's Canterbury campus on 4 July will explore the positive and negative effects of social media on young people.
The programme includes a combination of recent research into how young people use social media and its effects on them. For example, the heaviest users of social media are also those most vulnerable to low wellbeing, symptoms of anxiety and depression, in addition to other harms such as loss of empathy. In younger children more than two hours a day of recreational screen time is associated with reduced working memory, processing speed, attention levels and executive function.
There will also be a series of workshops focusing on specific areas of concern to schools, colleges, youth and community groups and services. These include poor mental health, cyberbullying, sexting and sexual harassment, online pornography, sexual solicitation online and radicalisation.
Confirmed speakers include: Duncan Stephenson, Royal Society for Public Health; Sally Williamson and Jill Allen, Salus Group; Dr Simon Hammond, University of East Anglia; Dr Laura Gray, South Tyneside Council; Professor Jane Reeves and Sally Green, Centre for Child Protection University of Kent; Nicki Carpenter, Kent Educational Psychology Service; Emma Harrison, St Nicholas School; and Professor Karen Douglas and Dr Afroditi Pina, School of Psychology University of Kent.
The conference, titled ‘Identity and Belonging 2019: Growing up in the Digital Age’, is hosted by the University of Kent and Kent Educational Psychology Service.
To register go here.