项目介绍

2025年4月4日

Understanding the impact of digital media has never been more pressing with the fast-paced development of new technologies and AI-driven applications. Youth are considered particularly vulnerable to harmful effects of digital media, with concerns rising about digital media’s negative impact on youth’s attention and well-being.
This four-year project will test the impact of digital technologies on first-time users – that is, children who start using a smartphone or video game console for the very first time. Specifically, the project will examine to what extent having their own smartphone or game console changes the way children spend their time and impacts their attention and well-being.

Through (controlled) longitudinal field trials that use a unique mix of subjective and objective measures, this project will shed light on the long-term impact of digital media on youth who use digital devices for the first time.

This project is funded by a NWO Vidi grant awarded to Susanne Baumgartner. In our Youth and Media Entertainment programme group at the department of Communication Science, we explore the role of communication technologies in everyday life studying traditional and new forms of media. Building on a media psychological orientation, the programme group focuses in particular on children and adolescents. The PhD project will be supervised by dr. Susanne Baumgartner, dr. Sindy Sumter, dr. Ine Beyens, and a postdoc.

What are you going to do

You will be part of a larger project that investigates the effects of digital technologies on children and adolescents who use these technologies for the first time. Specifically, the project will examine whether and how these technologies influence children’s attention and well-being. In this project, data collection will be based on 1) a randomized controlled field trial among novice video game players, and 2) a longitudinal field study among novice smartphone users. As a PhD student you will be involved in the data collection of one or both projects and will work in close collaboration with the other team members.

During your PhD project, you will:

• Review and synthesize the literature surrounding the impact of digital technologies on attention and well-being among first-time media users
• Design and conduct a controlled longitudinal field experiment which examines the effects of digital technologies on children. These field experiments will last 6 – 12 months and will be conducted in the field (i.e., by visiting families or schools) 
• Familiarize yourself with and apply longitudinal data analysis techniques
• Write up academic papers for publication in high-impact scientific journals and presenting them at (inter)national conferences.
• You will engage in teaching activities within our department (up to 10% of your time).

What do you have to offer

You have:

• A research master’s or equivalent degree (with a minimum of 120 ECTS) in communication science or a related social-science field (e.g., psychology, educational sciences, etc.), or expect to obtain it soon;
• an interest in topics associated with the impact of digital technologies on youth (or a related field);
• a demonstrated interest in quantitative methods; experience with longitudinal data analyses is a plus
• skills and willingness to handle complex datasets;
• Excellent spoken and written English skills with proficiency in Dutch or a willingness to learn Dutch.

You are:

• Curious, creative, and interested in learning from different disciplines
• Eager to learn new digital data collection methods and/or data analytical techniques
• Resilient in the face of challenges that come with new methodological approaches
• Able to balance the demands of several tasks (e.g., combining research and teaching) successfully
• Organized, flexible, and demonstrate attention to detail.
• Able to work independently, and you have a pro-active attitude
• Able to work in and contribute to the team work, you are a team player and communicate effectively

What else do we offer you

The planned starting date for this project is September 1, 2025. The position concerns temporary employment of 38 hours for a maximum term of four years. The initial employment is for one year. Following a positive assessment and barring altered circumstances, this term will be extended by a maximum of 36 months, which should result in the conferral of a doctorate. We will put together a curriculum which will also include the opportunity to attend training courses and both national and international events. You will also be tasked with teaching (Bachelor’s) students for up to approximately 10% of the contract. For this position, the University Job Classification profile “PhD candidate” applies.