Event title
- Advising Policymakers on Young People and Digital Technologies: Reflections from the Front Line
Location
- Hybrid and Thinktank, Birmingham Science Museum, Millennium Point, Birmingham, B4 7XG
Date
- Thursday 30 April 2026, 16:00-17:30
Keynote speakers
- Professor Amy Orben (Research Professor, University of Cambridge)
Event details
In a rapidly evolving digital world, there is growing interest in the impact of digital technologies, including social media, on the mental health of young people, and researchers are under increasing pressure to produce evidence that can inform policy and practice.
In this talk, Professor Orben discusses what the existing evidence tells us, the challenges in influencing policy that result, and ways in which the evidence-policy relationship could be improved, to the benefit of everyone.
Drawing on her extensive knowledge, Professor Orben reflects on existing evidence, the types of evidence that policymakers often seek, and the ways in which evidence differs across individuals and populations.
Given this, influencing policy is challenging. Professor Orben shares what she has learnt from providing scientific advice to national government in this context, highlighting both the unique challenges and opportunities of this work.
She discusses her own experiences advising national policymakers, emphasising the importance of building trust, practising humility, and understanding the needs of different stakeholders to ensure that scientific insights are heard and translated into meaningful change.
Professor Orben’s extensive experience of informing policy notwithstanding, there are fundamental difficulties in studying rapidly evolving technologies. She discusses her ideas about how to fix what she describes as 'the Science of Technology Harms' problem (Orben and Matias 2025).
She proposes a 'minimal viable evidence' model for the evidence-policy relationship which is dynamic and enables both policy and research to keep pace with technology developments, including through participatory, citizen-science type approaches.
The talk concludes with reflections on the particular challenges and opportunities of conducting and communicating research in a highly politicised area that attracts intense media scrutiny.
To attend this event either online or in person, please access Advising Policymakers on Young People and Digital Technologies: Reflections from the Front Line.
Organised by the ESRC Digital Good Network.