Boston and New YorkBoston and NY

Happiness 2.0: Performing the Digital Self

How do we present different versions of ourselves across digital spaces? Swissnex and the IBSA Foundation for scientific research present an interactive workshop exploring the tensions between online and offline identities—and how they shape our well-being.

How do we present different versions of ourselves across digital spaces? What tensions arise between online and offline identities—and how do these shape our well-being?

Starting from these questions, this interactive workshop brings together arts and science to explore the digital self through a hands-on “mask” activity. Participants will be invited to creatively construct representations of their digital identities using colors and materials, opening space for reflection, dialogue, and new ways of understanding digital behavior.

Blending creative expression with science-based insights on youth digital health, the workshop aims to help young people, parents, educators, and adults reflect on their digital habits, raise awareness of their impact on well-being, and support healthier, more intentional engagement with digital media. The session will be enriched by the participation of Dr. Michael Rich—the “Mediatrician”—who will contribute clinical and research perspectives on how digital media shape youth development and health. The workshop will also include a guided discussion and a collaborative brainstorming session, in which participants will reflect on key challenges and explore how digital environments can be designed to better support diverse developmental needs and well-being.

The activity is grounded in the science communication project Happiness 2.0, supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation and the IBSA Foundation for scientific research (Lugano), and draws on the latest interdisciplinary research from Switzerland and the United States.

Join us for an engaging exchange that bridges research, art, and science.

This workshop will be followed by the event Growing Up Online: Interactive Media and Youth Well-Being. Please register separately.

Facilitators

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    Bio

    Michael Rich

    Founder and Director
    Digital Wellness Lab,
    Boston Children's Hospital

    Michael Rich, MD, MPH is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School and practices Adolescent Medicine at Boston Children’s Hospital.

    Dr. Rich spent his first career as a Hollywood filmmaker before transitioning to medicine, which provided him with a unique understanding of the power of screens to engage, connect, and change us all. He founded the Digital Wellness Lab and the Clinic for Interactive Media and Internet Disorders at Boston Children’s Hospital to bring together researchers, clinicians, and tech/media leaders to research the positive and negative effects of media and technology on children’s and teens’ health and wellbeing, and to use this research to respond to and innovate a digital environment in which we can raise healthy, smart, and kind children.

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    Bio

    Hannah Chidekel

    Clinical Research Coordinator
    Digital Wellness Lab,
    Boston Children’s Hospital

    Hannah Chidekel comes to the Digital Wellness Lab as a Clinical Research Coordinator with a B.A. in Public Health and French from Brandeis University and an MPH from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. She has previously worked with public and private organizations to develop health communications interventions on topics ranging from substance use to pedestrian safety at local, state, and national levels.

    Drawing on her past work in health media and academic spaces, Hannah is particularly interested in the connections between communications theory, research, and health. She sees research as a dynamic, relational process that can create impact in the world of digital wellness across a variety of stakeholders.

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    Bio

    Nicole Powell

    Clinical Research Coordinator
    Digital Wellness Lab,
    Boston Children’s Hospital

    Nicole, a Clinical Research Coordinator at the Digital Wellness Lab, earned her B.A. in Psychology from East Carolina University and is currently pursuing a dual Master’s degree in Social Work & Public Health at Boston University. During her tenure as a Research Fellow at the Yale Child Study Center, she embraced an interdisciplinary approach, focusing on the social-emotional development of children. These experiences honed her understanding of diverse human environments and connections, shaping her holistic perspective.

    As the digital space is its own medium that humans interact with, Nicole works to conceptualize, analyze and report findings involving technology’s influence on health and well-being. Her research interests align with the Digital Wellness Lab’s mission, advocating for user-focused design strategies, promoting youth-led research, and ensuring technology adapts to the unique needs and experiences of individuals.

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    Bio

    Laura Marciano

    Assistant Professor
    The Media School,
    Indiana University Bloomington

    Dr. Laura Marciano is an Assistant Professor at the Media School, Indiana University Bloomington, and an associate at the Digital Wellness Lab at Boston Children’s Hospital. Her research examines how digital media use affects well-being, with a focus on adolescents. She led NIH- and Swiss National Science Foundation–funded HappyB and co-leads the Health&Happiness project, using surveys, smartphone data, and digital biomarkers to study well-being.

    Dr. Marciano is active in science communication and public engagement, serving on the Board of the IBSA Foundation.

Partners

This event is presented by Swissnex and the IBSA Foundation for scientific research, based in Lugano, Switzerland.