TUBEDU

The COVID-19 pandemic has increased both young people’s psychological distress and the use of social media. Continuing use of social media may weaken adolescents’ mental well-being, but at the same time, it may reduce their feelings of loneliness and offer peer support in difficult situations. In the TUBEDU research project, we examine how young people interpret and use mental well-being vlogs of popular YouTubers as possible peer support.

The four-year research project funded by the Academy of Finland is implemented in cooperation with the Universities of Turku, Tampere and Helsinki. We want to approach the subject in a multidisciplinary way and through a variety of methods. We use many complementary research methods such as surveys, video analysis, machine learning, and co-creation research to build a multifactorial picture of the phenomenon.

Our goal is to produce new theoretical-conceptual information and understanding of the connection between literacy and peer support in young people’s mental health and to create methodological tools that take into account the young people’s context, utilizing collaborative research to study their well-being. Our main goal is to strengthen adolescents’ mental well-being and health literacy.

Watch our video about the project on YouTube!