About the Digital Kaleidoscope

We are a research group at the Dyson School of Design Engineering, Imperial College London, studying how digital technology shapes the wellbeing of (young) people.

Digital technologies like video games, social media, streaming platforms are inextricable from young lives. But due to challenges accessing the right kind of data, and limitations in the kinds of methods researchers have been using, we still know surprisingly little about how they affect how young people feel, think, and develop.

We take a different approach. Using behavioural data collected directly from devices across multiple platforms, alongside short, frequent surveys with participants, we study the specific features of digital experiences - what they’re doing, with whom, and in what context. We combine these data with rigorous causal modelling and open science practices to produce findings that are transparent and actionable.

Why “Kaleidoscope”?

A kaleidoscope is characterized by disparate fragments forming into patterns. Our digital lives can feel similarly fragmented scattered across apps, platforms, and devices, shifting hundreds of times throughout the day. Our research treats that complexity seriously. By bringing together detailed behavioural data from across a person’s digital experience, we look for the patterns within the fragments: what combinations of activities, contexts, and needs matter most for wellbeing.

Principal Investigator

Dr Nick Ballou is a Research Fellow at the Dyson School of Design Engineering. He completed his PhD at Queen Mary University of London and postdoctoral research at the Oxford Internet Institute, where he worked with some of the world’s largest game companies to study how games affect player wellbeing. His work sits at the intersection of psychology, behavioural data science, and human-computer interaction, and he is an active advocate for open and reproducible research practices.

Funding

This research is generously supported by an Imperial College Research Fellowship and a Huo Family Foundation Early Career Fellowship.