ABOUT

There’s increasing evidence that social media use by young people contributes significantly to poor mental health. We ran a week-long studio project for two people to investigate this through a creative lens, to understand the situation and explore possible design solutions.

Four simple questions helped frame the opportunities: What if social platforms were designed to consider their effect on mental health? What if they took more responsibility for their users’ mental wellbeing? Could we track our mental health the way we do physical health? And should we count digital content ‘calories’ like nutritional calories?

Our research explored a range of challenges, from addictive tendencies to personal control and content trends. A complex picture emerged of the positive and negative impact social media has on mental health. Could we make a difference through design?