At IRTIS (irtis.muni.cz), we are looking for new PhD students to join our research on the relationship between digital technology use and well-being (among others). Are you interested in how our online activities impact how we feel—mentally, physically, and socially? Which individuals are more or less affected by their online activities? What can objective data reveal about patterns of digital technology use? How do parents influence children's internet use and its impact on children? If these questions intrigue you, we are looking for you. Apply for a PhD program under one of our supervisors. We offer opportunities for international collaboration, research stays, participation in international conferences, and summer school education.
Now is the perfect time to pursue a PhD at IRTIS—we currently have several ongoing projects, some running until 2028. This allows us to offer fully funded PhD positions supported by established research projects. Within these projects, we design innovative studies and address key research questions related to digital media use. You can explore our current and past projects here: https://irtis.muni.cz/research/projects.
Our projects cover several broad research areas, with a major focus on the relationship between digital technology use and well-being. This includes topics such as the impact of digital media on sleep quality, body image, cyber-aggression, loneliness, or health anxiety. We also examine how people perceive online content—what influences their trust in information or their assessment of aggressive incidents, or what shapes online behavior, including factors such as anonymity, digital skills, and personality traits. We are also focusing on emerging topics, such as the usage of generative AI or schoolbans of smartphones, and will continue to do so in our future research.
At IRTIS, we strive to communicate our scientific findings in an accessible way to the general public—whether through media appearances, research blogs (https://irtis.muni.cz/for-media) or research reports (https://irtis.muni.cz/research/list-of-publications, "Reports" tab).
Please follow the links below for more information on our PhD program, potential supervisors, and the departments where PhD students can be based.
IRTIS (Interdisciplinary Research Team on Internet and Society) is a research team that studies the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) and their impact on individuals and groups. We are a well-established team based at Masaryk University in Brno with a strong emphasis on international and interdisciplinary collaboration.
We implement the principles of Open Science in our work - we share data and analytical scripts for studies, support preregistration or writing registered reports, and hold discussions to share "best practices". When possible, we try to publish in Open Access mode.
