Document is current

Article History

Received: 1 June 2025

Accepted: 8 April 2026

First Online: 27 May 2026

Competing interests

: In the past 36 months, A.O. has received funding or contracts from the Wellcome Trust, Nathoo Family Trust, Huo Family Foundation, Jacobs Foundation, UK Research and Innovation (including Medical Research Council, Economic and Social Research Council and Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council), the UK Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, National Institute of Health, University of Cambridge, Emmanuel College and St John’s College of the University of Cambridge, the Prudence Trust and the Livelihood Impact Fund; she has given paid talks at SWFGL, Apple University and various schools, and is a paid editor of Psychological Science , as well as a paid reviewer for a range of grant givers; she was an unpaid member of the ESRC Smart Data Research UK Programme Board, British Academy Public Policy Committee, UK Department for Education Science Advisory Council, UK Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and UK Department for Culture, Media and Sport College of Experts, Australian eSafety Commissioner Social Media Minimum Age Evaluation Academic Advisory Group, and a paid member of the Digital Futures for Children Centre Advisory Board. A.K.P. has received research support through grants paid to his institution from the Huo Family Foundation and the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC); served as a scientific advisor for the Sync Digital Wellbeing Program (October 2022–December 2024), for which consulting fees were received; and holds unpaid roles as an editorial board member of the Instagram Data Access Pilot for Well-being Research. In 2025, A.K.P. provided advice to the Google Expert Advisory on Youth and Tech, the Open AI Expert Council on Well-Being and AI, the UK’s Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, and started serving as a member of the UK Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) College of Experts (ongoing). A.K.P. donates any fees from industry to charity. M.V. has received research funding from the European Research Council, the Economic and Social Research Council, Tilburg University and the University of Oxford’s John Fell Fund. M.V. has served as a non-paid panel member for Meta and K-Games, and as an editorial board member of the Instagram Data Access Pilot for Well-Being Research. S.G. and S.L. have served as panel members of the International Panel on the Information Environment (IPIE) Scientific Panel on Child Protection and Social Media. The other authors declare no competing interests.