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New Directions in Social Media Research
St John's College, University of Cambridge
Generously sponsored by the Huo Family Foundation and St John's College, Cambridge
A two-day conference bringing together international researchers studying technology-mediated social experiences, to explore new directions in research, emerging methods, and evidence-based policy.
A two-day conference bringing together international researchers studying technology-mediated social experiences, to explore new directions in research, emerging methods, and evidence-based policy.
There is widespread public and scientific concern about the impact of social media use on young people. Technology is rapidly progressing, and governments are calling for evidence to inform social media regulation. As research methods evolve to meet these changes, this is an ideal moment for social media researchers to meet, exchange ideas and seed new collaborations.
This conference will bring together researchers studying technology-mediated social experiences for young people from across the world. Across panel discussions, poster sessons and talks, we will be asking questions such as:
How are social experiences for young people changing in the digital age, as AI, gaming and social media evolve?
Which new methods can we use to study these questions?
What advice can we give to policymakers protecting young people from social media harms, and what role should scientists play in this conversation?
Taking place on 7th-8th December 2026, the conference will include keynote speakers discussing emerging research methods, digital policy for young people, and generative AI use. We will also feature flash talks, poster sessions, and symposia. Attendees are invited to submit proposals for posters (with select posters additionally invited to give flash talks) and symposia in advance. We will also be joined by the Science Media Centre, who will provide a workshop on science communication for social media researchers.
Key Dates
Key Dates
Registration
Registration opens: Monday, 6th July
Registration closes: Sunday 30th August
Poster and symposium submissions
Submission closes: Sunday 2nd August
Notification of acceptance: Week commencing Monday 17th August
Keynote Speakers
Keynote Speakers
Professor Sonia Livingstone OBE FBA
Professor Sonia Livingstone OBE FBA
Sonia Livingstone OBE FBA is a professor in the Department of Media and Communications at LSE. She has published 23 books on media audiences, children and young people’s risks and opportunities, media literacy and rights in the digital environment, including “Parenting for a Digital Future: How hopes and fears about technology shape children’s lives” and Digital Media Use in Early Childhood: Birth to Six. Since founding the EC-funded “EU Kids Online” research network, followed by Global Kids Online with UNICEF, she has advised the UK government, Council of Europe, European Commission, European Parliament, UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, OECD, ITU and UNICEF. Recent funding includes Medical Research Council and Huo Family Foundation research on youth mental health in digital contexts, Economic and Social Research Council research on family engagement with digital platforms, MacArthur Foundation for research on digital parenting, and European Commission for research on youth digital skills, on children’s online lives, and on age assurance. Her main focus is children’s rights in the digital environment, and she leads the Digital Futures for Children centre at LSE with 5Rights Foundation.
Professor Rogier Kievit
Professor Rogier Kievit
Rogier Kievit is Professor of Developmental Neuroscience at the Donders Institute of Brain, Cognition and Behaviour at the Radboud University Medical Centre. He leads the Lifespan Cognitive Dynamics Lab, developing and applying statistical models in large longitudinal samples to investigate how cognitive abilities are interrelated, how changes in the structure of the brain contribute to changes in cognitive abilities, and how cognitive functioning is associated with such factors as physical and mental health, social and intellectual engagement, and external environmental factors. He is a member of De Jonge Akademie, and (co)chair of the Green Young Academy and the Radboud Ecological Momentary Assessment Centre (REMAC).
Dr Henry Shevlin
Dr Henry Shevlin
Dr Henry Shevlin is a philosopher and AI ethicist, and Associate Director of the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence at the University of Cambridge, where he leads the University's AI ethics graduate programmes. His research explores machine consciousness, anthropomorphism, and the ethics of social AI, and his 2024 paper "All Too Human?" helped define the vocabulary of the emerging field of social AI. He is the author of the forthcoming Ethics of Social AI (Cambridge University Press) and co-author of a recent whitepaper on AI policy and youth flourishing. He also serves as Philosopher at Google DeepMind, working on human-AI relationships and AGI readiness. A frequent media commentator, he has appeared on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Sky News, and France 24, with commentary in The Times. His keynote will explore how ethical and policy frameworks must adapt in the age of social AI.
Day 1 - 7th December
Day 1 - 7th December
The first day of the conference will include two keynote speakers, Sonia Livingstone and Rogier Kievit, as well as flash talks, a poster session, and a complimentary drinks reception and dinner in the dining hall at St John's College, Cambridge.
Day 2 - 8th December
Day 2 - 8th December
The second day will include a keynote speaker, Henry Shevlin, poster sessions, symposia and a workshop with the Science Media Centre.
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