social media intervention

NSF CAREER award will support teen autonomy in age of AI

Nathan Kahl — Tue, 09 Jun 2026 15:45:38 +0000

NSF CAREER award will support teen autonomy in age of AI Nathan Kahl Tue, 06/09/2026 - 11:45

Adolescence has always been a time of figuring out who you are. Increasingly, that process unfolds alongside social media feeds, recommendation algorithms, and AI chatbots. 91��’s Nora McDonald received a prestigious National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER award for $748,000 to better understand how adolescents experience and are shaped by these artificial intelligence (AI) and other personalized digital environments, and how they can develop the skills and capacities necessary to maintain their sense of self, autonomy, and agency within them.

McDonald, an assistant professor in the Department of Information Sciences and Technology, has spent several years studying a growing reality of adolescent life, and one increasingly shaped by personalized AI technologies. Her research has found that social media recommendation systems and AI chatbots can serve as spaces where young people reflect on themselves, experiment with identity, and seek feedback about who they are.

McDonald's work will give teens tools to properly engage with digital technologies. iStock photo.

“Much of the public conversation has been about how algorithms influence what kids see and how we go down rabbit holes,” McDonald said. “I’m interested in a different question: How do algorithms shape self-understanding and how do teens make sense of themselves in environments that are increasingly personalized and shaped by algorithms and AI?”

McDonald’s previous research suggests that even while teenagers often view AI chatbots and recommendation systems as practical tools, those systems can become important spaces for self-exploration and self-presentation.

“Over time, teens might come to expect these systems to reflect aspects of who they are,” McDonald said. “They use them not just for help with homework or entertainment, but also to explore and understand themselves.”

Those findings raise broader questions about identity development during adolescence. If recommendation systems continually influence what young people see, what feedback they receive, and what content captures their attention, how will that affect how they see themselves?

McDonalds's CAREER project will investigate that question through what she calls a resilience framework that examines how adolescents recognize, interpret, and respond to algorithmic influence and how it relates to the coherence of their sense of self.

The research combines interviews, diary studies, surveys, and participatory design activities to better understand how adolescents interpret and respond to algorithmic systems. McDonald will recruit teenagers from across the country, beginning with qualitative studies and eventually expanding to a national survey designed to generate broader statistical insights.

One major outcome of the project will be the development of practical resources and activities designed with teenagers to help them navigate personalized digital environments.

The effort differs from traditional digital literacy initiatives that focus primarily on explaining how algorithms work. “It helps them reflect on algorithmic influence and develop strategies that are really rooted in managing attention and maintaining perspective on who they are outside of digital experiences,” McDonald said.

The CAREER award also supports substantial educational activities. McDonald plans to develop a new undergraduate course focused on algorithmic self-defense from a human-computer interaction perspective. The project will also support a youth summer institute for high school students helping young people to critically engage with AI personalized digital technologies that increasingly shape their everyday experiences.

Learn about Artificial Intelligence at George Mason

In This Story

Nora McDonald

Topics

information sciences and technology

social media intervention

Teens

Artificial Intelligence

Research

National Science Foundation

Innovate for Good: Mason Professor continues study of social media intervention for Chinese American caregivers with grant from NIH National Institute on Aging

Mary Cunningham — Fri, 01 Sep 2023 15:20:01 +0000

Innovate for Good: Mason Professor continues study of social media intervention for Chinese American caregivers with grant from NIH National Institute on Aging Mary Cunningham Fri, 09/01/2023 - 11:20

As Baby Boomer generation continues to age, the prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) is increasing. Today, more than six million Americans are living with dementia. Family caregivers of people living with ADRD experience high levels of psychosocial distress, and many of the caregivers themselves are older adults themselves. There is a lack of support for these family caregivers, and Chinese American caregivers face additional challenges in caregiving and self-care due to their immigrant and minority status.

Professor in 91��'s College of Public Health Y. Alicia Hong received a one-year $115,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health—National Institute of Aging Emory Roybal Center to expand her study of a social media intervention for Chinese American caregivers of people with dementia. The interprofessional team will test the Wellness Enhancement for Caregivers (WECARE) intervention program, an app-based personalized behavior intervention, to improve their confidence in caregiving and reduce social-emotional distress.

“Caring for a family member or loved one with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia (ADRD) is challenging and stressful, caregivers often experience negative health outcomes as a result. As American population becomes older and more diverse, more support is needed for family caregivers, but interventions for racial minority caregivers have been limited. WECARE is designed for Chinese American dementia caregivers to enhance their caregiving skills, reduce stress, and improve well-being,” said Hong, the principal investigator.

With a 2021 seed grant from Virginia Center for Aging, Hong and her team first developed the WECARE protocol, which was published in JMIR Aging in June 2022. From there, the team piloted the protocol with 24 Chinese American dementia caregivers. The results from the pilot were published in JMIR Aging in April 2023.

The pilot study indicated WECARE is feasible, acceptable, and effective as a culturally tailored intervention via a social media app. Study participants reported that using the app reduced depressive symptoms and caregivers’ burden. This study informs future research on digital interventions to support dementia caregivers, especially underserved minority caregivers.

Using funding from the National Institute of Aging grant, the team will add more personalized features to WECARE and test it with a larger sample size of participants. Caregivers will learn to apply problem-solving strategies, which can boost self-efficacy and master of caregiving, leading to positive health outcomes for themselves and those they care for. The program will include personalized feedback to reinforce learning, social networking to enhance social support, and location-specific resources.

The research team includes Pramita Bagchi in Mason’s Department of of Statistics and Jessica Lin in Mason’s Department of Computer Science. Additional consultants on the project include Van Ta Park at the University of California San Francisco School of Nursing, Hae-Ra Han at Johns Hopkins University, and Kate Lu from the Chinese Culture and Community Service Center.

Innovate for Good is an ongoing series that examines how Mason faculty in the College of Public Health are harnessing technology to improve health outcomes. If you have stories to share as part of the Innovate for Good series, email Mary Cunningham at mcunni7@gmu.edu.