At IRTIS (irtis.muni.cz) we are looking for new PhD students to join us in researching the links between the use of digital technologies and well-being. Are you interested in what we do online affects how we feel - mentally, physically and in terms of our relationships with other people? Which people are more and less affected by online activities? What can objective data tell us about patterns of digital use? How does children's use of the internet and its impact affect parents? If so, this offer is perfect for you! Come and join us for a PhD that will be fully covered by a new project with opportunities for international collaboration, internships, participation in international conferences and summer school training.
Now is the ideal time to apply for a PhD - from January 2024, we are launching a large project DigiWELL - Excellent Research in Digital Technologies and Wellbeing, supported by the Operational Programme Jan Amos Komenský (OP JAK) in the Excellent Research Call (project duration: 2024 - 2028).
DigiWELL is a project connecting eight universities and research institutes in the Czech Republic. IRTIS focuses on research on the short- and long-term impacts of the use of digital technologies on well-being of the general population. We will analyse existing data (mainly from the FUTURE project) as well as design and implement new studies (longitudinal design, ecological momentary assessment studies, experimental studies). Our primary target population is adolescents (12-17 years) and adults (18-59 years).
We will focus on psychological, social, and physical well-being. This includes topics such as the impact of social networking sites on body image or aggression, the impact of using mHealth apps on physical activity, the impact of online interactions on relationship quality and loneliness, etc. In a longitudinal data collection in the adolescent population (5 waves), we will also collect data from one of the adolescents' parents and thus, we will also address aspects related to digital parenting. The specific content of the planned collections (the selection of well-being indicators or specific online activities) will be addressed in the first year of the project and is quite flexible. It is therefore possible to come up with your own idea, prepare and pre-register a study with the support of supervisor(s), and then implement it within the project.
David Šmahel: will lead ecological momentary assessment studies using objective smartphone data. Similar studies have already been done in the FUTURE project; see information: https://irtis.muni.cz/working-groups/adolescents-on-smartphones. He will also be involved in longitudinal studies. He mainly deals with ICT and health, physical well-being, the impact of mHealth apps, eHealth literacy, AI, etc. Contact David at smahel@fss.muni.cz
Hana Macháčková: in DigiWELL, she will lead experimental studies focusing on factors influencing the use of technology for health purposes (e.g., issues related to dis/trust in health apps). From January, Hanka is also starting a project on online anonymity (exploring how to measure it and how anonymity affects our online behaviour, see https://irtis.muni.cz/research/projects/perceived-anonymity-in-computer-mediated-communication). In longitudinal studies, she will focus on psychological well-being. Contact Hanka at hmachack@fss.muni.cz
Lenka Dědková: will lead a research line on parents and the internet (see also her advertisement for a phd position on this topic - CZ only: https://irtis.muni.cz/cs/o-nas/pracovni-nabidky/hleda-se-budouci-doktorand-ka-se-zajmem-o-rodicovstvi-v-souvislosti-s-ict. In longitudinal studies, she will focus on social well-being. Contact Lenka at ldedkova@fss.muni.cz
All three can supervise doctoral students at the Department of Media Studies and Journalism and the Department of Psychology (FSS MUNI). David Šmahel is also available to supervise at the Faculty of Informatics of MU.
What to send:
Contacting your selected supervisor to talk about your ideas is important for your successful application. For information about the specifics of the program (study program, requirements, how to apply and how your application should look), please see https://www.fss.muni.cz/en/faculty-of-social-studies/admissions/doctoral-studies (or Czech version, https://www.fss.muni.cz/pro-uchazece/doktorske-studium). Please note that students in English doctoral programs have to pay tuition. You can find the amount on the provided websites.
This text was translated using DeepL.
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 are committed to intensive collaboration when supervising doctoral students. We also treat the PhD as a full-time job, and the financial compensation corresponds to this. We have written more about what a PhD looks like in a separate text, where you can find out the details: https://irtis.muni.cz/about/doctorate-in-irtis.
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.
When adolescents engage with social media content promoting body positivity, does it impact their body-positive behavior offline? This question was the focus of our latest published study.
The 10th European Communication Research and Education Association (ECREA) took place at the end of September in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Many of our team members attended and presented their research. See this page for their full presentations and profiles!
