How much do smartphones interfere with our everyday lives? Is it even possible to disconnect from the digital world? And what strategies do we need to achieve that? Cynthia Dekker, a researcher from the prestigious University of Amsterdam, came to Brno to discuss these and other questions.
The beginning of the autumn semester brought an inspiring workshop led by Cynthia Dekker, a PhD candidate from the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands. In her dissertation, Cynthia focuses on digital disconnection strategies and their impact on well-being. She presented two key topics of her research to her colleagues from the IRTIS team in Brno: 1. the impact of specific design patterns and the legislation related to them that concerns large tech companies; 2. how to test the effectiveness of digital disconnection strategies that support individuals in their efforts to achieve well-being. During the workshop, the researchers jointly set out to prepare intervention experiments designed to support the subsequent research. Thanks to the experience of their Dutch colleague, all participants managed to gain a better understanding of the issue, and their shared discussion offered a new perspective on the psychological aspects of digital disconnection.
THE WORKSHOP WAS ORGANIZED AS PART OF THE PROJECT Excellence on Digital Technologies and Wellbeing (OP JAK; project no. CZ.02.01.01/00/22_008/0004583).
How much time do children spend on their phones, and what do parents know about their online social lives? This question is among the key topics researched by Lenka Dědková, who has been included in this year’s Forbes Top Women in Science 2025 list.
MediaPsych Conference 2025: a venue for discussing the psychological and social dimensions of digital technologies.
