Issue 2 | Spring 2026

Dear PROMISE Partners, Colleagues and Friends, 

Welcome to the Spring 2026 edition of the 3+3 PROMISE newsletter.  

In this edition, you will find:

1. reflections from the recent CHANSE-Norface Conference in Paris, where PROMISE contributed to broader discussions on digital environments, well-being, and policy impact,
2. an overview of major European digital policy developments, and
3. an introduction to the PhD and student researchers supporting the interdisciplinary strength and long-term impact of PROMISE. 

Thank you for following our work and for being part of the growing conversation around improving digital environments for young people. 

Kind regards,

Prof. Dr. Tobias Dienlin, Project Lead 

1. PROMISE AT CHANSE-NORFACE CONFERENCE

From 11 - 12 May, PROMISE was featured at the CHANSE-Norface International Conference in Paris, with other projects funded under the “Enhancing Well-Being for the Future” call. The event brought together approximately 40 researchers from across Europe to explore how data and research are reshaping well-being and related policy for diverse stakeholders, including youth, women, social impact leaders and members of the LGBTQIA+ community.  

During the event, Project Lead Tobias Dienlin presented the PROMISE project, highlighting why the research is particularly timely amid growing concern around youth mental health, and online safety. The presentation introduced PROMISE’s interdisciplinary framework, and the challenge of ensuring that research can meaningfully inform policy in a rapidly changing digital landscape. Questions addressed included how to sustainably engage young people in research, how to evaluate the real-world significance of research findings, and how different projects can collaborate to maximize impact. 

Prof. Dr. Dienlin also joined panel discussions with other CHANSE-funded initiatives, including WOW (Women & Online Wellbeing) and MICRO (Measuring children’s wellbeing and mental health with social robots). On the second day of the conference, he also chaired a panel on social well-being and mental health featuring researchers from other CHANSE-funded initiatives. During the conference closing reflections, he highlighted the importance of understanding well-being as a complex, culturally situated, and multi-faceted concept - particularly in relation to young people’s digital lives. 

The conference offered an important opportunity to position PROMISE within wider European conversations on technology, well-being, and policy, while strengthening collaboration across interdisciplinary research communities. 

2. PROMISE & EUROPE'S CHANGING DIGITAL LANDSCAPE 

Across Europe, debates around young people’s well-being online are accelerating. Over the past year alone, governments, European institutions, and international bodies have introduced several new proposals, recommendations, and enforcement actions aimed at addressing the risks young people face in digital environments. 

Several major shifts are now shaping the policy landscape: 

• A move from platform self-regulation toward enforceable legal accountability, particularly through implementation of the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) 

• A rise in age-based restrictions and social media bans for young users 

• Growing attention to platform design features - such as algorithms, autoplay, and infinite scroll - rather than focusing only on access 

• Increasing recognition of young people as both vulnerable and agentic, reflected in emerging “empowerment”-based policy approaches 

• Ongoing tensions between protection and fundamental rights, including privacy, participation, and freedom of expression 

• A process of global policy diffusion, where European countries both influence and respond to international developments 

Major Developments Across Europe 

Among the most significant recent developments was the adoption, in April 2026, of the Council of Europe Recommendation on Online Safety and User Empowerment (CM/Rec(2026)4). The Recommendation represents an important shift in digital policy discourse by emphasizing not only youth protection, but also empowerment, participation, literacy, and rights-based approaches to online safety. 

At the EU level, the European Commission also entered a new phase of DSA implementation, including a preliminary finding against Meta that it failed to prevent youth under age 13 from accessing the platform. Meanwhile, discussions around EU-wide age verification systems have intensified, raising important questions about privacy, feasibility, and effectiveness. 

National governments are also moving quickly: 

• France approved a social media ban for under-15s in January 2026; 

• Greece announced a future under-15 ban linked explicitly to mental health concerns; 

• Austria announced plans for legislation restricting social media access under 14; 

• Belgium (Flanders) opened debate on youth age limits and media literacy approaches; 

• Germany is considering “youth mode” platform defaults and stricter protections; 

• Italy has shifted attention toward algorithmic addiction and platform design accountability; 

• Spain is developing a youth protection strategy that includes an under-16 ban; 

• The United Kingdom is consulting on broad restrictions including bans, curfews, and feature limitations for minors. 

Many interventions currently being debated or implemented - including age restrictions, bans, and verification systems - are being introduced in a context where the evidence remains fragmented, incomplete, and sometimes contradictory.  

At the same time, young people themselves are often underrepresented in policymaking processes, despite being the group most directly affected. 

This is precisely the landscape in which PROMISE operates. As Europe continues to navigate the complex relationship between technology, rights, and well-being, PROMISE seeks to contribute evidence that supports both protection and empowerment for the next generation. 

3. MEET THE EARLY-CAREER RESEARCHERS AT PROMISE

One of PROMISE’s greatest strengths lies in the interdisciplinary collaboration between senior researchers, PhD candidates, and student researchers across the consortium. Our early-career researchers bring diverse perspectives, methodological expertise, and innovative ideas that help shape the project’s research questions, methods, and impact. 

Katharina Rupp (University of Vienna) 

Katharina is a PhD researcher at the Department of Communication Science at the University of Vienna. Her work explores how social media platform design influences the well-being of emerging adults. Within PROMISE, she investigates interventions aimed at supporting digital agency, self-regulation, and intentional disengagement from social media. Using a mixed-methods approach that combines behavioral data with qualitative insights, her research compares usage restrictions and structural design changes to identify practical strategies for improving mental well-being. 

Ishita Pandey (University of Tartu) 

Ishita is a PhD researcher at the Institute of Social Studies, University of Tartu. Her research focuses on digitalisation, child and youth development, and well-being. She examines how digital environments, family dynamics, and policy institutions shape developmental pathways and mental health across key life stages. Ishita contributes to the PROMISE WP2 through methodological development, qualitative and quantitative analysis, and the synthesis of findings to support evidence-based policy recommendations. 

Eva Ziegltrum (Friedrich-Alexander University of Erlangen–Nuremberg) 

Eva is a doctoral researcher in Communication Science at FAU Erlangen–Nürnberg. Her PhD project examines how platform governance and social media design can better account for the developmental needs of young users. She supports the PROMISE team primarily on WP1, systematically mapping policy approaches related to adolescent mental health, platform design, and regulation. Eva was recently awarded the Forsa/Paul Lazarsfeld Scholarship for her Master’s thesis on social media affordances and voting behavior. 

Georgia Turner (University of Cambridge) 

Georgia is a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Digital Mental Health Group at the University of Cambridge. Her work applies computational neuroscience and data science methods to understand how technology use relates to mental health. Georgia contributes to PROMISE across multiple work packages, examining the cognitive mechanisms and behavioral drivers of social media use, including how digital platforms are reshaping young people's social relationships and experiences of connection and loneliness.

Valerie Yap (University of Cambridge) 

Valerie is a Pre-doctoral Researcher at the University of Cambridge’s Digital Mental Health Group, led by Prof. Dr. Amy Orben. Her research focuses on adolescent digital well-being, evidence synthesis, and policy translation. She has contributed to innovative youth-centered research methods, including data donation and AI-assisted micro-narratives, as well as evidence reviews for policymakers and public institutions. For PROMISE, Valerie contributes to WP1 and WP2, supporting the scoping review of policy proposals and the development of youth advisory structures that embed young people’s perspectives throughout the project. 

Jamil Adjallah (University of Cambridge) 

Jamil is a visiting placement student at the University of Cambridge’s MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, where he works with the Digital Mental Health Group as part of his Psychology studies at the University of Bath. Jamil contributes to ongoing PROMISE research activities within WP1 and WP2, and interdisciplinary discussions surrounding youth well-being and digital environments, including as a member of the Organising Committee for the conference, New Directions in Social Media Research, which will take place in Cambridge this December.  

Marco Tulio Daza (University of Navarra) 

Tulio is a PhD Candidate in Economics and Business at the University of Navarra, specializing in AI Ethics and Management. His research examines the societal impacts of emerging technologies through the lens of neo-Aristotelian philosophy and classical liberalism. With teaching experience across Mexico, Spain, and Ireland, he brings interdisciplinary expertise in ethics, technology, and policy to PROMISE. His work has been supported by organizations including DAAD, IBM Tech Ethics Lab, AIER, IHS, and NextGenerationEU.