Promoting Positive Affect and Prosocial Technology Use in Middle Schoolers: A Pilot of the Best Possible Self-Tech Exercise

Technology use is a central part of adolescent life. A 2024 Pew Research Center Survey showed that 95% of adolescents had access to a smartphone, 88% a desktop or laptop computer, and 83% a gaming console at home. Problematic use of these technology devices impact about 1 in 5 adolescents and can increases the odds of depression, anxiety and stress. However, most adolescents do not exhibit problematic use. To date, the research on technology and mental health has focused primarily on its adverse effects, despite initial evidence that technology can elicit positive affect, learning and social connection.

Adolescents most often use technology to socialize and extend their in-person relationships and are more likely to engage in online pro-social behaviors (e.g., complimenting), than antisocial behavior (e.g., criticism). Moreover, moderate use of technology that is active and social is linked to positive emotions like pleasure or satisfaction. Despite these data, few evidence-based approaches help adolescents mindfully engage with technology in ways that promote well-being and social connection.

The Best Possible Self (BPS) intervention, in which participants envision and write about their best future selves, has been shown to increase positive affect in adults and adolescents. This pilot study will adapt the BPS intervention to focus on positive future technology use (BPS-Tech) and test whether it can be feasibly and acceptably delivered in a middle school classroom. The pilot will also examine the textual features of BPS-Tech written entries (e.g., length, vividness, positive tone) and examine associations with post-intervention positive affect. Finally, the written entries will be analyzed with qualitative methods to describe how adolescents envision prosocial technology use. This study will generate feasibility data for a brief, scalable positive affect intervention and provide new insights into how youth envision using technology for good. Findings will inform refinement of the intervention and lay the groundwork for larger trials designed to prevent problematic technology use and strengthen positive affect during developmentally sensitive periods like adolescence.