Hidden Voices in Research - Children, young people and social media.

Join us for our second Hidden Voices in Research session focusing on children and young people and online harm including the impact of social media.

Date: 11 June 2026

Time: 10am-12pm

Location: Colette Bowe room, Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Campus.

About Hidden Voices in Research:

Hidden Voices in Research brings together academic researchers, council staff and voluntary sector partners to share evidence, lived experience and frontline insights. 

This event will focus on how children and young people engage with social media. 

The online world offers countless opportunities for connection, creativity and learning, yet it can also amplify risks—from harmful content and misinformation to pressure, exclusion and exploitation. 

This session creates a space to hear the research with and about young people’s realities, bring to the surface what is working locally, and identify where gaps in knowledge and provision remain. 

By showcasing research and practice-based learning, we aim to strengthen shared understanding and inform better support, policy and services for children and young people.

We will be joined by HDRC partner academics at UEL whose research includes:

• Child Online Harms Policy Think Tank - https://www.uel.ac.uk/onlineharms 
• Information complexity in screen media and the developing brain (looking at how fast pacing impacts young brains) https://www.isey.org/projects
• Other academic researchers - be confirmed 
• Voluntary and community sector organisations working with children and young people.

Register to attend:

We encourage attendance from local voluntary sector organisations working with young people, as well as HDRC partner colleagues from Queen Mary University of London, London Metropolitan University and University of East London - in particular those who are:

Researchers devising and working on projects with young people and impact on development, attitudes, and behaviours

• MSc and PhD students involved in related research 
• council staff working on policy development for improving outcomes for children and young people
• health services working with children and young people
• voluntary sector services working with children and young people.

For further information please contact alison.robert@thcvs.org.uk.”

This event is delivered by Tower Hamlets NIHR Health Determinants Research Collaboration (HDRC) partners.

About the HDRC:

Tower Hamlets HDRC is a research partnership between the council, three local universities, and Tower Hamlets Council for Voluntary Services (THCVS).

Our current research themes include:

• Keeping physically and mentally well
• Crime and safety
• Opportunities for residents
• Economic security and support
• Healthy homes.

If you’d like to hear more about our work contact hdrc@towerhamlets.gov.uk, and sign up to our newsletter