A School Survey on Use and Knowledge of Apps and Websites for Promoting Mental Wellbeing

Abstract

Mental wellbeing is the combination of feeling good and functioning well. Digital technology widens the opportunities for promoting mental wellbeing, particularly among those young people for whom technology is an ordinary part of life. This paper presents the findings of a school survey on apps and websites that have a primary purpose of promoting mental wellbeing, involving 308 young people (12-16 years) and 86 staff from seven schools across a region of Scotland, UK. Nearly half of the young respondents displayed a lack of understanding of mental wellbeing or misunderstood mental wellbeing as mental health problems, and a very few reported using an app or website with a primary purpose of promoting mental wellbeing. The main contribution to HCI is identifying a problem area in need of further exploration: how to improve the use and knowledge of good quality apps and websites for promoting mental wellbeing among young people aged 12-18 years. Mental health; mental wellbeing; young people; digital technology; survey.