Scarlett works as a postdoctoral researcher on the Reading between the lines project. A project that looks at how young people's online world relates to their lives offline. With the goal of helping young people create a safer and better online environment. 

'Reading between the lines' is a funded research project by NWO, one of Movez's partners. After a carefully written proposal, the consortium, all parties involved, received the good news that they had been awarded the grant on digital livability. “When I saw the vacancy for the project passing by, I had immediately applied. It felt like a unique opportunity to really make a difference,” Scarlett says.

Originally from Groningen, Scarlett moved to Amsterdam for her undergraduate studies in Psychobiology. “I found out then that I really liked research. After all, I want to figure everything out!” For this reason, she started a research master's within psychology, and this was followed by a doctoral research with the theme of social learning among adolescents. “That's where my interest in adolescence began,” she says. Which now certainly comes in handy with this research, “It is important to me that I do something for society. I want to understand young people better and help them, and this research makes me feel like I can really do something for others together with my colleagues.”

Scarlett will be working with many young people, figuring out together what problems young people face on social media and working together to find solutions. “One of the goals is to let young people experience that they themselves can make a difference,” she said. Thus, Scarlett explains that the youth are involved from the beginning. “We want to know what their online world looks like and how we can make it healthier, more social and safer. To achieve this, it is especially important that young people share what they are experiencing, experiencing and what their needs are.”

The study also looks at how young people's online and offline worlds are connected. “We are doing this together with the Medical Center of Rotterdam. In fact, the project has two lines of research. At the MC, a large data set with online and offline factors is analyzed quantitatively. At the Erasmus, we are engaged in participatory action research. “ Together, they look at the connection of the online and offline worlds. “What you encounter online can be taken to the offline world and visa versa. We can't say what the direction of influence is, but what we can do is feed back to the young people what we found and ask if they recognize it and in what ways. They can help us understand the relationships better through recognition and stories from everyday life” This collaboration is high on her mind, ”Everyone works together toward the same goal, but in their own way. That ensures that we can achieve a lot together!”

For Scarlett, working for this kind of research is a bit new. “Especially working very closely with the young people and gaining their trust, it my researcher role, is exciting. I don't want to ruin it. But this makes the project a lot of fun” To achieve this bond of trust, they work with people and organizations that young people already know well, these are the key figures. “These figures help us get closer to the young people. They make the young people feel safe.”

For example, the sessions (workshops) needed for the research are held in places where the young people frequent. “During the first workshop, young people discover what they want to tackle in their own living environment. At later workshops, they apply their ideas in a kind of local intervention form.”

Scarlett hopes only one thing, that through the project young people feel they have really accomplished something. “The research is successful if young people feel that they have made or can make a positive change for themselves and others. And that they are happy with the opportunities they are experiencing.” Fortunately, she has just begun the research and can still make much of the collaboration between young people and researchers. To learn so much more about young people's digital world, and help them make it safer and better. “Even if I can only help a few young people and they feel helped, that's already a great personal success!”

Are you curious to see how this research will progress? If so, keep a close eye on our website!