Wellesley College: “The heart” of the Youth, Media & Wellbeing Research Lab
Recent Coverage / 2026
The Washington Post: Her daughter was unraveling, and she didn’t know why. Then she found the AI chat logs.
Recent Coverage / 2025
Youth and AI: Applying Lessons Learned from Social Media
Research & Action Report / Research & Action Annual Report 2025
Promoting Well-being in Girls through Social Media and Digital Health (2025)
Publications / Journal Publications
ScienceNewsExplore: 5 things to remember when talking to a chatbot
The Washington Post: 10 ways to keep children safer and happier online
Handbook of Children and Screens (2025)
Publications / Publications by title
The Benefits and Challenges of the Parental Monitoring of YouTube in Adolescents’ Lives: A Qualitative Study of Emotion and Sleep Regulation (2025)
TIME: A Psychiatrist Posed As a Teen With Therapy Chatbots. The Conversations Were Alarming
WCW Contributes to Health Advisory on AI and Adolescent Wellbeing
For the media / 2025
GLAAD: 2025 Social Media Safety Index
Mombian: LGBTQ Parenting Roundup
Science News Explores: For teens, virtual reality worlds aren’t all fun and games
Curiosity Weekly: Linda Charmaraman on #ADHDTest
Review of Current Trends in LGBTQ + Youth and Social Media: Implications for Mental Health, Identity Development, and Civic Engagement (2025)
Youth Co-designing More Positive Digital Ecosystems: An Action Research Journey via a Youth Advisory Board (2024)
Learn more about where our research initiatives started, and where they are today
Research & Action Report / Research & Action Annual Report 2024
Landmark Achievements
Understanding Adolescent Self-esteem and Self-image Through Social Media Behaviors (2024)
NPR: Going deeper into some claims in legal filings against TikTok that NPR uncovered
Recent Coverage / 2024
Vox: What if the panic over teens and tech is totally wrong?
KFF Health News: A Possible Downside to Limits on Teens’ Access to Social Media
Vox: Is your kid addicted to their phone? Here’s how to set smart boundaries
The Conversation: Stricter monitoring of tween and teen internet use may not always be better
Association Between Social Media Use and Substance Use Among Middle and High School-Aged Youth (2024)
Sexual Minorities and Loneliness: Exploring Sexuality through Social Media and Gender–Sexuality Alliance (GSA) Supports (2024)
The New York Times: America Is Averting Its Eyes From Something Very, Very Wrong
Los Angeles Times: Science doesn’t yet support broad restrictions on teens’ access to social media, experts say
PBS: Student Mental Health Matters | A Toolkit for Educators
Wellesley Magazine: A Big Idea
Wired: How to Talk to Your Kids About Social Media and Mental Health
Parental Monitoring of Early Adolescent Social Technology Use in the U.S.: A Mixed-Method Study (2024)
Recent Coverage
Transforming Research into Action to Protect Teens on Social Media
Research & Action Report / Research & Action Annual Report 2023
Longitudinal associations between pet relationship quality and socio-emotional functioning in early adolescence (2023)
Conceptualizing the role of racial–ethnic identity in U.S. adolescent social technology use and well-being (2023)
The Contribution of Digital Ecosystems to Adolescent Well-Being (2023)
Longitudinal assessment of specificity in adolescent-dog relationships and adaptive coping for youth with social anxiety
All Projects / Active Projects
"Opinion Fatigue" Is Setting In For Twitter, TikTok, & Instagram Creators
Recent Coverage / 2023
Linda Charmaraman, Wellesley College – When It Comes to Teens and Screens, Pets Can Have Surprising Benefits - The Academic Minute
Wellesley College: How Linda Charmaraman and the Youth, Media & Wellbeing Lab Are Influencing the Way We Think about Social Media
Salon: The tricky timing of a child's first smartphone
Boston Globe: The stage is theirs: At a majority of Boston-area theaters, women leaders have taken charge
Health advisory on social media use in adolescence
For the media / 2023
Social Media and Mental Health: Research-Based Approaches to Support Adolescent Girls’ Wellbeing
Media Library / Videos by WCW Scholars and Trainers
Advancing Gender Equality Around the World: Four Innovative, Technology-Driven Approaches
The Washington Post: TikTok’s trendy beauty filter ushers in new tech and new problems
Research Scientist Submits Testimony to Congress on Youth, Social Media, and Mental Health
The Conversation: Research on teen social media use has a racial bias – studies of white kids are widely taken to be universal
Research Scientist Teaches Wellesley Students How to Write for the Real World
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