The project aim is to create new evidence on how smartphone and social media use may influence secondary school exam results.
Health and education are strongly linked throughout our lives. Poorer health in childhood and adolescence is associated with missing school and achieving lower exam scores. Lower exam scores negatively influence lifelong career prospects and health.
There is public concern about the impact smartphones and social media may have on young people. Many schools are currently considering their smartphone policies, and there are growing movements to support ‘smartphone free’ childhoods.
There is some evidence that using smartphones and social media is associated with achieving lower scores in school and university exams. But the evidence is neither certain nor sufficient to say whether smartphones or social media actually cause lower exam scores. We also do not know a lot about how smartphone and social media use are linked to lower exam scores. They could affect exam scores via intermediate factors such as mental and physical health, cognition, sleep, cyberbullying, and missing school. We need better evidence so that we can understand the most effective ways to improve children and young people’s educational outcomes, and thus their lifelong health and wellbeing.
Mixed methods (quantitative and qualitative) will be used to generate this new evidence.
The project uses information from the Study of Cognition, Adolescence and Mobile Phones (SCAMP). SCAMP has collected information on smartphone and social media use, mental and physical health, cognition, lifestyle and school exam results for 7000 participants across Greater London, throughout secondary school. This information will be analysed to investigate if smartphone and social media use are linked to subsequent exam results, and potential factors that may explain any link. The project will also investigate whether smartphone and social media use can explain links between socio-economic status and exam results, to understand if it contributes to inequalities in education outcomes for young people. The project will also look at information collected via other studies, to check results are similar in other populations of young people.
The project will also explore young people’s thoughts and feelings about how smartphones and social media influences their education. It will include young people whose voices are not often heard. It will gather and study audio recordings from interviews and group discussions with young people. The goal is to understand their opinions and experiences around the issue. A process called thematic analysis will be used to find patterns and uncover meanings. This approach gathers rich detail, which will enhance the understanding of findings from the analysis of SCAMP information.
Young people will be involved throughout the project via the SCAMP Young People’s Advisory Group to inform research design, interpretation and sharing of knowledge.
The project findings be informative for health and education policy to improve children and young people’s life chances. The project is partnering with the Department for Education, and Hammersmith & Fulham Council, which brings opportunities for the findings of this work to influence national policy and local practice.
How to apply:
- Details on how to apply can be found in here: https://www.imperial.ac.uk/a-z-research/mohn-centre-child-health/work-with-us-/phd-smartphone-use-on-education-outcomes/#d.en.1602409
- Applicants should also complete the online LISS-DTP Diversity Monitoring Form
- The closing date for applications is 23:59 UK time on 26th February 2025
- Interviews will be held on: to be confirmed
- This project is offered as full-time only
- For any queries contact rachel.smith05@imperial.ac.uk