G5 Doctoral dissertation (article)
The role of information technology in the well-being of young people in school and leisure contexts : perspectives from IT use and design (2023)
Informaatioteknologian rooli nuorten hyvinvoinnille koulun ja vapaa-ajan konteksteissa : näkökulmia IT:n käyttöön ja suunnitteluun

Mehtälä, S. (2023). The role of information technology in the well-being of young people in school and leisure contexts : perspectives from IT use and design [Doctoral dissertation]. University of Jyväskylä. JYU dissertations, 655. http://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-951-39-9633-8

JYU authors or editors

Publication details

All authors or editors: Mehtälä, Saana

eISBN: 978-951-39-9633-8

Journal or series: JYU dissertations

eISSN: 2489-9003

Publication year: 2023

Number in series: 655

Number of pages in the book: 1 verkkoaineisto (71 sivua, 45 sivua useina numerointijaksoina, 15 numeroimatonta sivua)

Publisher: University of Jyväskylä

Place of Publication: Jyväskylä

Publication country: Finland

Publication language: English

Persistent website address: http://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-951-39-9633-8

Publication open access: Openly available

Publication channel open access: Open Access channel

Abstract

Information technology (IT) and its applications have become integral parts of modern society. The implications of IT use have been widely discussed, including both the beneficial and adverse effects on the well-being of individuals. In the case of young people under 18 years of age, the amount of time spent using IT on a daily basis has received much attention in the literature. However, there is limited knowledge about the complexities surrounding young people's stressful IT use experiences, coping and well-being as well as challenges related to online education and school life. Thus, the present doctoral dissertation aims to add an understanding of how young people’s use of IT relates to their wellbeing. More specifically, the main contributions of the current dissertation include uncovering the following: 1) young people’s stressful IT use experiences, 2) problem-focused coping strategies used by young people to address stressful IT use experiences, 3) teachers’ views of IT use–related challenges with online and onsite education, 4) teachers’ views of the challenges related to pupils’ online interactions and strategies to facilitate school life, and 5) the design features of ITs designed to promote the mental health and well-being of children and young people. Young people’s stressful experiences relate to different dimensions of IT use, and they can effectively use problem-focused strategies to address them. Teachers can identify challenges associated with IT use for onsite and online education that seem to be affected by the degree and pace of IT use. Teachers can find addressing the online interactions of pupils as taxing, creating the need for establishing clearer roles and responsibilities for different actors. Finally, the ITs targeted to young people could benefit from paying more attention to the mental health and well-being context, as well as focusing on young people as a user group. The results of the dissertation show that the connections of IT use to wellbeing relate to the technological, social, and individual characteristics that should be considered in their respective IT use contexts. Future research should aim to further explore the dimensionality of young people’s IT use that might contribute to different level well-being outcomes.

Keywords: young people; leisure; school environment; information technology; online study; digital media; user experience; well-being; stress management; applications (computer programmes); doctoral dissertations

Contributing organizations

Ministry reporting: Yes

VIRTA submission year: 2023