In this new episode of Wide Walls, I’m thrilled to welcome Merve Cerit, a PhD Candidate from Stanford University working at the intersection of artificial intelligence, learning sciences, and mental health.

Merve’s work explores how we can better understand the impact of digital media on individual well-being, using innovative person-specific and computational methods.

She studies how people’s smartphone use relates to mental health on a highly granular level, and is now exploring how AI can be leveraged to support reflection, reasoning, and education in an increasingly digital world.

Whether it’s designing interventions that help us think more critically about media and technology or developing tools that reflect on our media behavior, her research has big implications for the future of learning, digital well-being, and human-centered technology.

In this episode, we:

- Unpack her innovative research methods to understand how we spend our time on screens

- Discuss key findings from her research projects

- Explore concrete applications to protect our children and improve our lives.

If you enjoyed the conversation, please share this podcast around and spread the word!

Find more about Merve’s work:

Merve’s LinkedIn

Merve on Research Gate

References from the episode:

Shows:

Adolescence, Netflix

The Social Dilemma, Netflix

Books:

The Anxious Generation, Jonathan Haidt

Mindmasters, Sandra Matz

Healing, Thomas Insel

Hooked, Nir Eyal

Stolen Focus, Johann Hari

Podcast:

Your Undivided Attention, Center for Humane Technology