SMAHRT: Social Media and Adolescent Health Research Team

11/25/2025

It was wonderful to see our amazing medical student research team members present their work at the annual Shapiro symposium!

08/18/2025

Measures of screen time evaluate how long a teen uses their device, but often excludes the type and quality of the content being consumed. Our research has found that a much more nuanced approach is needed to better evaluate technology use and teen health.

05/06/2025

More about our fantastic speakers for the 2025 Youth Mental Health Summit...

Meet Dr. Moreno!

Dr. Moreno is an adolescent medicine physician at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and co-medical director of the American Academy of Pediatrics Center of Excellence on Social Media and Youth Mental Health.

Her research focuses on 3 core areas: 1) innovative approaches to adolescent health using social media, 2) internet safety education and 3) measuring technology use and misuse. Dr. Moreno is passionate about helping teens through the challenges around balancing relationships, influences, and experiences, and to consider ways in which technology may provide new venues for education and support.

Follow Dr. Moreno's team!

Learn more about the summit - click the link in our bio! Tickets are on sale now, but limited - don’t miss out!

04/30/2025

Current and former , Avery Salerno, Drs. Angie Calvin, Marina Jenkins, and Megan Moreno, recently published an article in the Journal of Adolescent Health on “Adolescent Experiences with Navigating Health Information on Social Media and Beyond: Using Qualitative Data to Inform a Model.” The study included 7 focus groups of adolescents ages 13 to 18 and asked adolescents about their perspectives and experiences with health information online and offline. Click to read the results: https://go.wisc.edu/vs62e1 American Academy of Pediatrics

04/28/2025

Earlier this month, Dr. Megan Moreno had the pleasure of visiting Case Western Reserve University, where she delivered the Kessler-Freedheim Lecture, hosted by the Schubert Center for Child Studies. During her visit, she connected with community members—including teens—for meaningful conversations about social media and health. These conversations are always a source of inspiration, sparking new research questions and shaping future work. Cleveland School of the Arts

04/23/2025

Join Dr. Megan Moreno on Wednesday, May 7, as she co-leads a webinar hosted by NYU Grossman School of Medicine called Healthy Tech Habits: How To Collaborate With Your Teen To Establish Practical Guidelines For Home Technology Use. Learn more about the event and register today:

Join us for an insightful webinar designed to help parents and their adolescent children find common ground on social media and screen time. Together, we'll explore strategies for creating collaborative family guidelines that promote healthy digital habits. This webinar will be co-led by: -Dr. Megan...

04/22/2025

URS is almost here! Don’t miss out on the exciting projects from our SMAHRT interns on social media and adolescent and young adult health. Stay tuned for our intern takeover on April 25th!

04/18/2025

Posters, playlists, podcasts, and productivity. With URS right around the corner, SMAHRT interns are locking in—here’s what they’re listening to while they work.

04/16/2025

What do SMAHRT interns have in store for URS? We’re passing the phone to give you a sneak peek into their research projects!

04/15/2025

A large scale survey study out of the University of South Florida found that middle schoolers with smartphones reported better mental health and more in-person social time than their peers without phones.

Dr. Megan Moreno calls the study a major step forward: “It is just so rare for studies to consider both benefits and risks.”

Read the article from HuffPost to learn more about the nuanced world of tech and teens: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/kids-phone-mental-health-survey_l_67fd303fe4b0d6c85e48530c

The groundbreaking new study found that children from a particular age group can greatly benefit from having a phone. Here's why.

04/14/2025

SMAHRT's kicking off the Road to URS! The SMAHRTeam is proud to share that four of our interns are presenting their research at the Undergraduate Research Symposium on April 25th! From TikTok to problematic internet use to FOMO, their projects explore how digital life may impact adolescents' and young adults' health and well-being. Stay tuned for more URS updates!