WORKING GROUP LEADER
Interested in: parental mediation, children's and adolescents' online interactions
Long-term impacts of using ICT
About the working group
One of the major questions of current research on information and communications technology (ICT) is the impact of the usage of these technologies on children, adolescents, and adults. This working group focuses on the long-term impacts of such technologies - we are interested in what patterns of use affect physical, psychological, and social well-being.
Some of the issues we address in our research are as follows:
- How do specific internet activities affect the feelings and behavior of users, for example - how does participation on social media affect their loneliness?
- Which parenting strategies are the most effective in protecting children against possible adverse effects of internet usage?
- How does the use of technology affect physical health, such as sleep quality?
Such questions can be answered with the different research designs. To address long-term impacts, longitudinal research design, with repeated data collections on the same respondents, is one of the best.
In IRTIS, we already conducted two large longitudinal surveys as part of the “FUTURE” project. We surveyed children, adolescents, and one of their parents, and followed them over the years 2021-22. We continue with longitudinal research in the DigiWELL project, where we currently collect data on adults, and will start collecting data on children, adolescents, and parents in spring 2026.
We continuously work on the data analyses. You can find our research results in the tab Research outputs.
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2026-2027
- Data collection on children-parent dyads within DigiWELL project
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2025-2027
- Data collection on adults within DigiWELL project
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2022-present
- Longitudinal analysis of the FUTURE data
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2021-2022
- Data collection on children-parent dyads within FUTURE project
Our team
We are a team of psychologists, media scientists, and sociologists. We share an interest in information and digital technologies and studying their long-term impacts. To study this topic, we are carrying out longitudinal surveys of children, adolescents, and adults. Each of us specializes in a specific case of this broad field of study. You can learn more about the members of our group below and in our profiles.
Interested in: online aggression, cyberbullying, bystanders' behaviour in cyberbullying
Interested in: impacts of ICT on physical health, usage of mHealth applications
Interested in: cyberhate and online discrimination
Interested in: impacts of social networks on body image
Interested in: effects of playing video games
Interested in: sexting – receiving and sharing sexual content online
Interested in: health information on the internet, anxiety related to covid-19
Interested in: meeting people online, online communication, face to face meetings with people from the internet
Interested in: impacts of ICT on physical health, sleep quality
Interested in: e-mental health
Interested in: statistics and psychometrics
Interested in: cyber dating abuse, sexting, intimate partner violence.
Interested in: media effects, journalism, ICT and well-being, sexual diversity.
Interested in: research application in public policy, efficacy of mindfulness-based interventions, psychology of leadership, anonymity in online communication.
Interested in: positive psychology, recovery experience, wellbeing, job performance, gamification.
Interested in: recovery processes, digital well-being, coaching, career adaptability.
Research outputs
We are continuously working on data analyses and writing articles. Below is the list of published outcomes from our longitudinal datasets. We will regularly update it.
Journal articles
2025
- Gulec, H., Muzik, M., Smahel, D. & Dedkova, L. (2025). Longitudinal Associations Between Adolescents’ mHealth App Use, Body Dissatisfaction, and Physical Self-Worth: Random Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Study. JMIR Ment Health, 12, e60844. doi:10.2196/60844
- Kvardova, N., Machackova, H., Maes, Ch. & Vandenbosch, L. (2025). Navigating Beauty Standards on Social Media: Impact of Appearance Activity on Adolescents’ Body Dissatisfaction. Journal of Youth and Adolescence. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-025-02159-y
- Lacko, D., Kyslík, F., Smahel, D. & Machackova, H. (2025). Gaming together, feeling better—or feeling worse? How social video gaming impacts loneliness and depressive mood differently for boys and girls. Computers in Human Behavior, Volume 172, November 2025, 108752. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2025.108752
- Svestkova, A., Huang Y. & Smahel D. (2025). Factors that influence trust and willingness to use generative AI for health information: A cross-sectional study. DIGITAL HEALTH. 2025;11. doi:10.1177/20552076251360973
- Tercova, N. , Muzik, M., Dedkova, L. & Smahel, D. (2025). The Reciprocal Relationship Between Parental eHealth Literacy Mediation and Adolescents’ eHealth Literacy: Three-Wave Longitudinal Study. Journal of Medical Internet Research 2025, 27, e67034. doi:10.2196/67034
2024
- Lacko, D., Machackova, H. & Smahel, D. (2024). Does violence in video games impact aggression and empathy? A longitudinal study of Czech adolescents to differentiate within- and between-person effects. Computers in Human Behavior, 159, 108341.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2024.108341 - Lebedíková, M., Araujo, R., Mýlek, V., Šmahel, D., & Dědková, L. (2024). The reciprocal relationship between consensual sexting and peer support among adolescents: A three-wave longitudinal study. Computers in Human Behavior, 152, 108048. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2023.108048 https://osf.io/4pdyh/
Research reports
- Smahel, D., Šaradín Lebedíková, M., Lacko, D., Kvardová, N., Mýlek, V., Tkaczyk, M., Svestkova, A., Gulec, H., Hrdina, M., Machackova, H., & Dedkova, L. (2025). Tech & Teens: Insights from 15 Studies on the Impact of Digital Technology on Well-Being. EU Kids Online.
- Mýlek, V., Dědková, L., Šestauber, J., & Macháčková H. (2023). Adolescents’ face-to-face meetings with online acquaintances. Brno: Masaryk university.
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Bedrosova, M., Dufkova, E., Dembytska, N., Gerzicakova, M., & Dedkova, L. (2022). Cyberhate in Czech families: Adolescents’ experiences andtheir caregivers’ knowledge. Brno: Masaryk University.
Conferences
- Mýlek, V., Dědková, L., Dienlin, T. & Shouten, A. P. (2024, September 24-27). Does online communication improve or diminish adolescents’ social skills? Presented at the 10th European Communication Conference (ECREA), Ljubljana, Slovenia. Available here.
- Terčová, N., Mužík, M., Dědková, L. & Šmahel, D. (2024, September 24-27). The reciprocal relationship between parental e-health literacy mediation and adolescents' e-health literacy: A three-wave longitudinal study. Presented at the 10th European Communication Conference (ECREA), Ljubljana, Slovenia.
- Tkaczyk, M., Ksinan, A. J. & Šmahel, D. (2024, September 24-27). Longitudinal associations between screen time, bedtime and daytime sleepiness among adolescents: A three-wave panel study. Presented at the 10th European Communication Conference (ECREA), Ljubljana, Slovenia. Available here.
- Šaradín Lebedíková, M., Olveira Araujo, R., Šmahel, D. & Kaveri Subrahmanyam (2024, September 24-27). Individual factors of expected and unexpected sexting and the subsequent feelings: A nationally representative study in adolescents. Presented at the 10th European Communication Conference (ECREA), Ljubljana, Slovenia. Available here.
- Dědková, L., Mýlek, V., & Geržičáková, M. (2024, September 24-27). Do restrictions work? Examination of the impact of parental restrictions on adolescents’ online flirting with new people in 4-wave panel. Presented at the 10th European Communication Conference (ECREA), Ljubljana, Slovenia. Available here.
- Güleç, H., Mužík, M., Šmahel, D. & Dědková, L. (2024, September 24-27). The Reciprocal Associations between Adolescents’ mHealth App Use, Body Dissatisfaction and Physical Self Worth: A Three Wave Longitudinal Study. Presented at the 10th European Communication Conference (ECREA), Ljubljana, Slovenia. Available here.
- Lacko, D., Macháčková, H., & Šmahel, D. (2024, September 24-27). Within- and between-person effects of violence in video games on aggression and empathy. Presented at the 10th European Communication Conference (ECREA), Ljubljana, Slovenia. Available here.
- Švestková, A., Šmahel, D. & Dědková, L. (2024, September 24-27). Insight into the vicious circle: A longitudinal study of health anxiety and health-related internet use in adolescents. Presented at the 10th European Communication Conference (ECREA), Ljubljana, Slovenia. Available here.
- Jaron Bedrosova, M., Mylek, V., & Dedkova, L. (2023). (Cyber)victimization among Czech youth: Comparing experiences of non-heterosexual and heterosexual adolescents. Presented at the 13th Conference of the Media Psychology Division (MediaPsych 2023), Belval, Luxembourg. Available here.
- Mylek, V., & Dedkova, L. (2023). Adolescents’ interactions with people from the internet and the quality of their offline friendships. Presented at the 13th Conference of the Media Psychology Division (MediaPsych 2023), Belval, Luxembourg. Available here.
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Dědková, L., Mýlek, V., & Lebedíková, M. (2022, October 19-22). The impact of parental mediation on children’s online activities: Two-wave panel study. Presented at the 9th European Communication Conference (ECREA), Aarhus, Denmark. Available here.
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Geržičáková, M., Dědková, L., & Mýlek, V. (2022, October 19-22). Does momma know best? Parental characteristics and their association to parents' knowledge about children's online risks [Poster presentation]. Presented at the 9th European Communication Conference (ECREA), Aarhus, Denmark. Available here.
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Mýlek, V., & Dědková, L. (2022, October 19-22). Why, with whom, and what was the outcome? Face-to-face meetings between adolescents and people from the internet. Presented at the 9th European Communication Conference (ECREA), Aarhus, Denmark. Available here.
Popularizations
- Dědková, L., & Mýlek, V. (2023, February 22). How effective are parenting strategies when it comes to meeting people online? [blogpost] Available here.
- Mýlek, V. (2022, November 16). Why do Czech adolescents meet face-to-face with people from the internet? IRTIS blog. [blogpost]. Available here.