Julie Semrow, “The Milwaukee Youth Wellness Initiative on Technology (MYWIT) – Youth Advisory Board”
Mentor: Celeste Campos-Castillo, Sociology
Poster #27

The purpose of the research conducted in this project is to understand useful interventions for body dissatisfaction on social media for adolescents (generally aged 13-17). The purpose in conducting this study for adolescents is to find which interventions, such as an AI or algorithmic function, embedded in social media would be helpful for high school aged kids. It is also important to understand that body dissatisfaction in this study can be described mainly in correlation to “Fat Talk” which is conversation in a pair or group of friends that consists of talking about how one person may be dissatisfied with their body because they perceive themselves as being “too fat” or “fatter” than other people that them and their friends compare themselves to. In order to complete this research, we’ve assembled a Youth Advisory Board (YAB) for the Milwaukee Youth Wellness Initiative on Technology (MYWIT). The YAB is formed from surrounding high schools in the Milwaukee area, made up of varying ethnicities and backgrounds, in hopes to greatly diversify the ideas and opinions brought to the table. The YAB is a 1 year initiative that will meet once by monthly to discuss experiences and our research in relation to improving teen mental health when it comes to social media. From this study the hope is to gain information on how to help adolescents who may be struggling with body image or mental health issues related to body dissatisfaction.