What’s the project?
Across social media platforms, young people are continually faced with decisions to stick with media from familiar sources (e.g., content creators or hashtags) or explore new content. The choice between sticking with something familiar versus exploring something new is known as the ‘explore/exploit trade-off’. In this project, researchers from University College London will be examining whether the explore/exploit trade-off can explain why some young people experience negative outcomes while on social media. Specifically, the team want to understand whether those who stick with familiar content will be exposed to more extreme content, exacerbated by social media algorithms.
Find out more
The team are looking for 4 young people to join the lived experience advisory group for this project.
This opportunity will involve online meetings to discuss the aims, design and findings of the project. Meetings online will include a mix of discussions, interactive activities and remote work. There are up to four places available in this advisory group. The lived experience advisory group will meet 3 times per year, with a total of 9 meetings between February 2026 and September 2028. All meetings will be held online.
- Must have a stable internet connection
- Advisors must be aged between 16-24 by the time they join the advisory group (Spring 2026)
- Advisors should have some lived experience of mental health issues (past or present)
- Advisors should have some experience of social media either being a positive or negative influence on their mental health
Payment will be at an hourly rate of £25 per hour. It is expected that there will be 9 hours of work across the project, totalling £225.
If you are interested in this opportunity, please email [email protected] with brief answers to the following questions:
- What is your name?
- What is your date of birth?
- What is your gender?
- What is your ethnicity?
- Are you based in the UK?
- Why are you interested in this specific opportunity?
- Please summarise your relevant lived experience and any other perspectives you feel are important for this role
- Please briefly describe how you would manage this position alongside your current commitments (for example, work, study, caring responsibilities)
- Sometimes after talking about topics like mental health, people feel they need a little extra support or someone to chat to. What support do you currently have in place (e.g. supportive friends, family, health professionals or mental health charities)? Is there anything that we could do to support you or make your involvement experience better?
- How did you hear about this opportunity?
You are welcome to send your responses in audio or video format if preferred. If you need any help completing your expression of interest, you can get in touch with Alex Lloyd at [email protected]
5pm on Monday 2nd February 2026
Please note that the McPin Foundation regularly promotes opportunities on behalf of other institutions; we are not responsible for the continuation or contents of further correspondence with any project partners where we are not listed as the project main point of contact.
