Interdisciplinary Research Team on Internet and Society

Interdisciplinary Research Team on Internet and Society is based in Masaryk University, Brno, the Czech Republic. Our members carry out research related to the social, psychological, sociological and political implications of the use of information and communication technologies. We co-organize the annual international conference Cyberspace and publish Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace.

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Our research interests

ICT and well-being

Impacts on psychological, social and physical well-being

Online risks

Excessive internet use, Cyberbullying, Cyberhate, Harmful contents

Children & adolescents online

Parental mediation, Online socializing, Digital skills

Human-computer interaction

ICT security, Adoption of new technologies

See profiles of irtis members

What are we working on now

ySKILLS

Understanding adolescents digital skills in European context.

ySKILLS examines risks and opportunities related to children’s and adolescents’ (aged 12 to 17) ICT uses and their digital skills to understand how to purposefully use ICTs towards greater cognitive, physical, psychological and social wellbeing.

FUTURE

Investigating impacts of ICTs on adolescents' psychological, social, and physical well-being.

This project aims to develop a complex evidence-based theory depicting the impacts of technology usage on physical, psychological, and social well-being of adolescents aged 11 to 18.
We are developing innovative research methods based on the software using artificial intelligence.

EU Kids Online IV

Exploring the risks and opportunities of children's and adolescents' internet use across Europe.

The EU Kids Online network sets out to provide empirical evidence on youth's online experiences and related opportunities and risks. This includes large scale comparative survey in 19 European countries, and smaller studies specifically focused on particular issues.

All research projects Our publications research: Adolescents' smartphone use and well-being

Latest news

25 Mar

New study: Who Is Exposed to Harmful Online Content?

In a new study published in the Journal Youth and Adolescence, we examine the risk and protective factors of adolescents' exposure to harmful online content. The study was authored by N. Kvardová, H. Macháčková and D. Šmahel from IRTIS and K. Subrahmanyam from California State University.

25 Jan

New study: Emotional and behavioral consequences of cyberostracism

In their new experimental study, Simona Galbavá, Hana Macháčková, and Lenka Dědková examined impacts of osctracism on social networks. Even very subtle signs of ostracism lead to lower satisfaction of people's needs (belonging, self-esteem, meaningful existence, control) and to worsened mood. The study was published in the journal Comunicar.

19 Jan

New study: Advantages and disadvantages of internet use according to women with eating disorders

IRTIS members Hana Drtilová, David Šmahel and Martina Šmahelová published a new qualitative study detailing the advantages and disagvantages of internet use from the perspective of women with eating disorder experience. The study was published in the prestegious journal Health Communication.

4 Dec 2020

New study: Digital security in families

L. Dědkova and D. Šmahel from IRTIS, together with M. Just from Heriot-Watt University, published a new study examining which sources of information about digital security parents rely on and how these preferences relate to their internet mediation practices and internet skills.

See all irtis news

Our other activities

A peer-reviewed scholarly journal founded and managed by several IRTIS members.
It is devoted to publishing social science research on information and communication technologies.

More about the journal Cyberpsychology website