Rural vs Urban Social Media Use and Mental Health in socially disconnected teens
Official title: Rural and Urban Differences in Social Media Use, Online Experiences, and Mental Health Among Socially Disconnected Adolescents
Funded at University of Georgia · NIH-11443440 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Teens aged 13–17 in rural or low-resource areas are studied to see how daily social media use affects mood and coping, especially for those with limited offline support.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R21 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Georgia NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Athens, United States) |
| Project start | September 1, 2026 |
| Project end | August 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $405,505 |
| NIH project number | 1R21MH142318-01A1 |
| Project ID | NIH-11443440 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adolescents aged 13–17 who identify as socially disconnected and live in rural or low-resource settings.
✕Less likely to help
Teens outside the target age range or those not experiencing social disconnection may see limited direct benefit.
What this research studies
This project follows adolescents who feel socially disconnected and investigates how their everyday social media use relates to mood and coping in real-time. The study will first gather one month of passive mobile-use data from about 20 rural participants to identify patterns of supportive versus hostile digital experiences. It will then conduct a larger phase with around 100 teens using short, frequent mood surveys (EMA) over three 14-day periods during the school year, along with additional passive sensing before and after EMA bursts. By combining data and interviews, researchers aim to develop better prompts and understand how algorithm-driven content influences distress and resilience in this population.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, findings could help tailor digital supports and interventions to reduce distress and improve coping for socially disconnected adolescents.
How similar studies have gone: Previous work shows connections between online experiences and mood; this study extends those ideas to rural/low-resource settings with active data collection.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Georgia
Athens, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Wang, Liyuan — University of Georgia
- Study coordinator: Wang, Liyuan
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.