Fall Symposium 2026. The Impact of Smartphones & AI on Social Health and Wellbeing

How are smartphones, social media, and artificial intelligence shaping the way we think, connect, learn, and live?

Digital technologies have become deeply embedded in our daily lives. They influence how we communicate with others, access information, maintain relationships, learn new skills, and make decisions. While these developments offer exciting opportunities, they also raise important questions about social connection, wellbeing, inclusion, autonomy, and mental health.

During this year's Fall Symposium, we will explore the impact of smartphones and AI on social health and wellbeing from a range of scientific and societal perspectives. Bringing together researchers, students, professionals, and societal partners, the symposium aims to stimulate reflection, dialogue, and new collaborations around one of the most pressing topics of our time.

The programme features:

• A keynote lecture by Marie Stadel
• Flash talks from researchers across the faculty
• Presentations on social media behaviour and regional initiatives
• An interactive debate involving the audience
• Opportunities for discussion, networking, and interdisciplinary exchange
  

Whether you study human behaviour, health, communication, education, technology, policy, or society, this symposium offers an opportunity to engage with colleagues working on related questions from different perspectives.

Call for abstracts

We invite researchers and students across the faculty to contribute to the symposium with a short flash talk related to the central theme.

We welcome contributions from a broad range of perspectives. Your work might focus on smartphones, social media, artificial intelligence, or digital technology more broadly, and their relationship with topics such as social connection, relationships, mental or physical health, wellbeing, behaviour, identity, development, education, inequality, or other relevant social and societal processes.

Work in progress, recently completed studies, new research ideas, and interdisciplinary perspectives are all welcome. The aim of the flash talks is not only to present findings, but also to spark conversation, make connections across disciplines, and discover shared interests within and beyond the faculty.

Interested in contributing?

Please send your abstract to cesshw rug.nl by 25 September 2026.

Registration

Want to join the symposium? Please register via this link before October 2nd!