In our rapidly evolving digital world, there is increasing concern about the impact of digital technologies such as social media on the mental health of young people. Policymakers and the public are nervous. Psychologists are facing mounting pressures to deliver evidence that can inform policies and practices to safeguard both young people and society at large. However, research progress is slow while technological change is accelerating. Dr Orben will reflect on this, both as a question of psychological science and metascience, during her talk.
Digital companies have designed innovative and highly popular environments that differ in important ways from the offline spaces humans have traditionally inhabited and interacted with. By revisiting the foundations of our psychological discipline – such as development and cognition – and considering how these digital changes to our environment impact pre-existing theories and findings, we can gain deeper insights into how digitalisation might impact important outcomes such as mental health. Dr Orben’s talk will discuss this from multiple methodological perspectives. On the one hand, developmental vulnerabilities that predispose young people to mental health conditions can be exacerbated by digital environments. On the other, digital designs can interact with cognitive and learning process, which can be formalised through computational approaches such as reinforcement learning or Bayesian modelling.
However, we also need to face deeper questions about what it means to do science about new technologies and the challenge of keeping pace with technological advancements. Dr Orben will therefore also discuss the concept of ‘fast science’: an approach discussed in philosophy of science where during crises scientists might lower their standards of evidence to come to conclusions quicker. Might psychologists want to take this approach in the face of technological change and looming concerns? Dr Orben will conclude her talk discussing this and other strategies for shaping 21st-century psychology to remain relevant in the era of digitalisation.