Debate: What guidance is needed by academics who collaborate with digital companies to improve youth mental health?

Abstract

In a recent debate piece, Livingstone, Orben and Odgers (Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 2023, 28, 150) asked whether and when it is advisable for academics researching youth mental health to collaborate with digital companies. Such collaborations arise when researchers seek to identify risks and opportunities associated with youth digital engagement or to develop research-based interventions that leverage digital technologies to improve young people's mental health. However, young people's digital experiences, the associated data records and the prospects of testing interventions in situ are often under the control of digital providers and inaccessible to researchers. There is growing optimism that collaboration with companies may allow independent researchers access to proprietary resources along with opportunities to test and scale up beneficial digital interventions. Understandably, such optimism is tempered by scepticism about the processes, trust, and interests at stake during collaboration between researchers and companies. Given these often opposed positions, it is clear that professional guidance is required for academics so they understand the potential costs and benefits of choosing to enter into such collaborations and the terms on which this is advisable. This article highlights what information already exists for researchers and what guidance is needed to ensure that youth mental health researchers can successfully collaborate with digital companies.