Research will address how the digital environment influences brain development and function, mental health and mental health problems, risk behaviours, bullying, loneliness and social isolations and also how digital technologies can be harnessed to promote positive behaviours and mental well-being.
Funded by the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office, this project led by Prof Sonia Livingstone seeks to address questions and evidence gaps concerning children’s conception of privacy online.
To examine how children's rights to provision, protection and participation are being enhanced or undermined in the digital age, this project aims to build on current evidence of online risks and opportunities for children worldwide.
This ethnographic research project examined the emerging mix of on- and offline experiences in teenagers’ daily learning lives. The team focused on the fluctuating web of peer-to-peer networks that may cut across institutional boundaries, adult values and established practices of learning and leisure. The book is here.
Towards a pan-European knowledge platform on the effects of digital technologies on children and young people. CO:RE examines children’s digital experiences relating to their health, lifestyles, participation and digital citizenship, well-being, safety, and security. The LSE team coordinates the theoretical dimension of the research.
This project examined the role that communication plays in promoting and hindering community among London’s diverse populations. Read the final report here.
This interdisciplinary research network is dedicated to understanding the opportunities and risks for learning afforded by today's changing media ecology, as well as building new learning environments that support effective learning and educational equity. Read the final report here.
This COST Action is examining children’s digital literacy skills as they engage with the latest technologies including wearable technologies, 3D printers, robots, augmented reality apps, toys and games and the Internet of Things.
A collaboration with the 5Rights Foundation, this applied research project is working to put children’s interests at the centre of the design of the digital world.
A multi-method study of the mental health risks and benefits of digital technology use.
Funded by UKRI (ESRC), this network is researching how the digital environment intersects with the traditional influences on children – family, school, peers. The aim is to build new practice models to improve children and young people’s mental health outcomes.
Led by Upcom, euCONSENT is an EU-funded research and development initiative bringing together twelve partners including academic institutions, NGOs and technology providers to design, deliver and pilot a new Europe-wide system for online age verification and parental consent.
EU Kids Online is a multinational research network. It seeks to enhance knowledge of European children's online opportunities, risks and safety. It uses multiple methods to map children's and parents' experience of the internet, in dialogue with national and European policy stakeholders.
This nine-year (2015-2024) mixed methods longitudinal research and evaluation programme is following the lives of adolescents in diverse Global South contexts. Read the report on digital media.
Global Kids Online is an international research project that aims to generate and sustain a rigorous cross-national evidence base around children’s use of the internet by creating a global network of researchers and experts, and a research and impact toolkit, to inform and promote children’s rights in the digital age.
In light of raising concerns about advertising practices targeting children, the study examined children's exposure to online marketing content in social media, online games and applications. Read the final report here.
Makerspaces in the early years: Enhancing digital literacy and creativity. This research network aims to further research and innovation in the area of young children’s digital literacy and creative design skills.
This project examined the relationship between consumption and citizenship, asking whether and, if so, how, people's media consumption gives them the resources to connect to wider publics. Read the final report, and the resulting book.
Funded by the NSPCC, this project reviewed the evidence related to outcomes and effectiveness for children’s helplines so as to inform the future planning of effective service delivery.
This qualitative and quantitative research project investigated how children and young people, along with their parents, carers, mentors and educators imagine and prepare for their personal and work futures in a digital age. The work is being blogged at www.parenting.digital.
Finded by CHANSE/ESRC, PlatFAMs examines the embeddedness of digital platforms in the lives and practices of modern families by researching three-generations (children, parents, grandparents) in five European countries (Norway, Estonia, UK, Romania and Spain).
This project (2004-2008) asked how consumers are now represented within the new culture of regulation and, on the other hand, how consumers themselves understand their changing role within communications and financial service regulation.
This project investigates family practices and attitudes around very young children’s internet use in Australia and the United Kingdom with the aim of developing recommendations for policy makers and offering guidelines for parents of young children.
The project involves longitudinal research with children aged 12 to 17 to offer evidence on how to enhance and maximise long-term positive impacts of the ICT environment on multiple aspects of children’s well-being by stimulating resilience through the enhancement of digital skills.
For previous research projects, see Professor Livingstone's CV (available on request).