Scientific Presentations

SeminarTalks­@DCD

Department of Digital and Computational Demography
Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR), Rostock, Germany, October 29, 2026

3:00 PM: Talk with Pablo Gracia - Youth Well-Being, Social Media Use and Digital Inequalities

Nora Federici Conference Room (room 400)

Abstract

Digital technologies and social media have become increasingly embedded in the everyday lives of children and adolescents. These changes bring new opportunities for learning, communication, and social connectedness, but also raise concerns about inequalities in mental well-being and educational outcomes. This presentation examines how digital use and social media relate to youth well-being, with particular attention to heterogeneity across demographic and socioeconomic groups. First, I will introduce a conceptual framework for understanding how digital inequalities may contribute to inequalities in child and adolescent well-being. Second, I will present empirical evidence on the relationship between digital use, mental well-being, and educational outcomes from childhood to late adolescence, focusing specifically on digital parenting and intersectional inequalities. Third, I will examine how social media use relates to adolescent mental well-being across different social contexts, considering inequalities at the micro, meso and macro levels. The analyses draw on high-quality longitudinal and cross-national data across high-income countries. I will conclude by discussing emerging directions for demographic and sociological research on digitalisation, youth well-being, and structural inequalities.

About

Pablo Gracia is Research Professor of Sociology at Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) and researcher affiliated to the Centre for Demographic Studies (CED-CERCA). Previously, he was Professor of Sociology at Trinity College Dublin and held postdoctoral positions at the University of Amsterdam and the European University Institute. His research focuses on families, well-being, and inequalities, with recent work addressing social inequalities in child and adolescent development, youth digitalisation and social media, as well as gender inequalities in time use and mental health trajectories. He is Principal Investigator of DIGINEQ – Digital Time Use, Adolescent Well-Being and Social Inequalities (2024–2029), funded by an ERC Consolidator Grant. Prof. Gracia is Associate Editor of European Societies and part of the coordinating team of the Child and Adolescent Development group from the European Association for Population Studies (EAPS).

Register to Take Part

You would like to attend the Online Seminar Talk? You are very welcome. Please register by writing an e-mail to office-zagheni@demogr.mpg.de.
 

Online Seminar Talk, October, 29th from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. (Rostock time)