What’s the project?
Researchers at the University of Bristol are inviting young people (14-19 years) with recent experience of depression or self-harm thoughts or behaviours, and who use TikTok or Instagram, to participate in their research project. This is being conducted by researchers at the University of Bristol Medical School (Population Health Sciences).
Young people’s mental health can be affected by what they see online. The team want to find out what young people think and feel about the content they see online and how this affects their mental health. Young people have been involved in designing the study.
Find out more
If you agree to take part in this study, you will be asked to do the following:
- Email Dr Lizzy Winstone (the researcher leading the study) – [email protected] – to check you are eligible, receive a consent form, and ask any questions you may have about the study. Return the completed consent form to Lizzy by email. If you are under 16 years, you will need to share details of the study with a parent or guardian and they will also need to complete a consent form.
- You will be contacted by Lizzy to arrange a 15-minute online briefing (via Zoom). During the briefing, Lizzy will explain the next steps of the study, arrange a 1-hour online interview, check whether you want to focus on Instagram, TikTok or both, and talk about staying safe during the study. You will have an opportunity to ask questions. It is important that you have your camera on during this briefing.
- Before your interview, you will be asked to take 2-4 screenshots of your Explore page (if Instagram) and/or 10 screenshots of videos that have been suggested to you on your TikTok feed. Screenshots can be taken of content that feels typical of the types of things usually suggested to you on Instagram/TikTok OR they can be content that stood out for you as interesting or meaningful (that you are comfortable talking about in the interview). You will be asked to edit the screenshots to make sure there are no faces or usernames visible (the team will show you how to do this).
- You will be asked to email these screenshots to Lizzy before your interview, and they will be stored securely in a password-protected folder.
- During your interview, Lizzy will ask you questions about the screenshots and how they make you feel. The interview will be audio-recorded and copied into text. The team will then analyse the data.
- After the interview, some of the screenshots will be shared with a researcher who is also an artist. They will use the screenshot to draw some of the content so it is not possible for anyone to identify the actual content you have shared.
- The team will write a journal article and recommendations for the government. They will work with a group of young people to make posters of the screenshot drawings, which will be displayed in a museum next to quotes from the interviews. Some posters will be sent to schools. Teachers will use them to talk to young people about what they see online, and how this makes them feel. Your name and details will not be included in any of the results or posters.
To take part you must:
- live in the UK;
- be aged 14-19 years;
- speak English fluently;
- use TikTok and/or Instagram regularly;
- have experienced depression or thoughts of self-harm
You will receive a £25 online shopping voucher [love2shop] as a thank you for taking part in the study. This can be spent in a wide range of online stores. The voucher will be sent to you via email at the end of the study.
It is important that you understand this is a research study and the team are not able to provide therapy or mental health advice.
For further details of the study, and to check if you are eligible to take part, please email [email protected]
5pm on Monday 24th March 2025.
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.
