Director’s Innovation Speaker Series: Youth-Centered Approaches to Media Research

Director’s Innovation Speaker Series: Youth-Centered Approaches to Media ResearchDuring this lecture, Jenny Radesky, M.D., and Megan Moreno, M.D., M.S.Ed., M.P.H., discussed youth-centered approaches to social media research and their impact on frameworks, methods, and products. Dr. Radesky presented the DREAMER Model (Dynamic, Relational, Ecologic Approach to Media Effects Research; Barr, Kirkorian, Coyne & Radesky, 2024), a new conceptual framework for conducting research on early childhood media use. This model improves on older research, which focused only on child "screen time," by exploring the context of media use within parent-child relationships, how media affects both parents and children, the role of media design, and how factors like poverty and stress influence outcomes. She shared recent research that uses the DREAMER Model and discussed its relevance for clinical guidance using the 5Cs framework. Dr. Moreno described the 5Cs framework for teen media use. She then presented on the Brain, Behavior, and Well-Being project, which focuses on the intersection of adolescent development and digital media use. This project uses an interdisciplinary approach guided by a Youth Advisory Board and has informed new methods and approaches for social media research among adolescents. Dr. Moreno also discussed how this project intersects with the 5Cs framework.