What’s your name?
Simon Daniel
What’s your department?
I’m a 5th year PhD candidate in Clinical and School Psychology.
What’s your hometown?
Bergenfield, New Jersey
How are you connected to TYDE?
I am a member of TYDE’s Training and Events Committee!
What is your research about? What parts of it are the most exciting to you?
My research focuses on how to effectively implement mental health services in school-based settings to promote youths’ social-emotional well-being. Lately, I’ve been motivated to use large-scale data to understand how system-level and ecological factors, like state policies, school climate, and locale, impact youth behavioral functioning. I’m especially interested in studying technology-related policies and outcomes, given how many unanswered questions we have about them.
How do you use digital technology in your daily life?
Digital technology is ingrained into almost every aspect of my life, from recording workouts, tracking sleep, finding creative and fun ways to connect with friends and family, and of course, my work. Something specific I’ve been trying recently is scanning handwritten notes so that I can save them and use text recognition. The convenience, portability, and archivability of digitally taken notes can’t be beat, but this helps me stay connected to pen and paper.
In your opinion, what are the main challenges that young people face navigating the world of digital technology and/or social media?
Digital spaces hold so much promise for supporting the development of young people. However, the rapid development of technology can leave adults scrambling to figure out how to best provide safe, beneficial ways for kids to engage. As a result, our kids may find us divided on how to support them as they navigate an ever-changing digital world. On one hand, I believe we need to promote greater scientific inquiry into this area so we can better understand how to promote healthy relationships between young people and technology. On the other hand, I think we should double down on teaching and promoting the social-emotional skills we know help kids (and adults) navigate the world already—things like building and maintaining meaningful relationships, making responsible decisions, regulating one’s emotions, and more.
