Midwest Youth Wellness Initiative on Technology (MYWIT)
The Midwest Youth Wellness Initiative on Technology (MYWIT) is a youth advisory board designed to amplify the voices of teens who self-identify with communities of color around the Midwest region. While a substantially large body of research examines how technologies, like social media, are impacting the mental health of teens, their voices are noticeably absent.
To that end, MYWIT invites teens from these communities around the Midwest to become advisors for the board during a summer virtual camp. Our goals during this camp include:
• Encourage advisors to share their experiences with technologies and discover new research questions that have never been asked before.
• Train advisors in the research process so that they can contribute to shaping research studies and consider a research career.
• Prepare advisors to be leaders by providing them with a platform and skillset to communicate their ideas with others.
The summer 2024 MYWIT program is a summer virtual camp that will run from Monday, July 8 to Friday, July 12. We will meet for two hours each day (time to be determined based on the preferences of selected youth advisors.)
The program will be entirely online and offered via Zoom.
For teens who lack reliable access to the internet, we provide devices and Broadband access to help them join the program.
Participation in the program is free of charge, and youth advisors will receive $20 for each day they participate (up to $100).
The specific schedule of events will be shared prior to the start date, but will include activities such as:
- Interactive activities to learn about research design
- Brainstorming to develop new research studies
- Visualizing data with Excel
- Designing a research poster on PowerPoint to share with others
Teens who meet the eligibility criteria below are encouraged to apply.
- Age Requirement: Applicants must be between 13 and 17 during the virtual summer camp.
- Residency: Applicants must be a resident of a Midwest state, which includes Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, and South Dakota.
- Community: Applicants must self-identified as belonging to a community of color, which includes but is not limited to American Indian, Asian, Black or African American, Latino, and Middle Eastern.
It's crucial to remember that fulfilling these requirements does not ensure admittance into the virtual summer camp. The selection procedure may also consider additional elements, such as the caliber of the application and the number of open positions in the program.
For 2024, we anticipate selecting up to 8 youth advisors to join MYWIT.
For best consideration, complete the online application by May 15, 2024.
In 2022, Drs. Celeste Campos-Castillo and Linnea Laestadius founded the Milwaukee Youth Wellness Initiative on Technology, which was a youth advisory board comprised of teens who self-identify with communities of color in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
The following year, they expanded to the broader Midwest region and changed the name of the board to Midwest Youth Wellness Initiative on Technology (MYWIT).
MYWIT has been funded by the Technology and Adolescent Mental Wellness program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the Midwest Sociological Society, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and Michigan State University.
Dr. Campos-Castillo is an Associate Professor in the Department of Media and Information at Michigan State University. She studies how communities can use technologies to improve health and health care outcomes.
Dr. Laestadius is an Associate Professor at the Zilber School of Public Health at the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee. She studies how technologies, behaviors, and policies intersect to shape wellbeing.
MYWIT also includes undergraduate students who operate as near-peer mentors for the youth advisors:
Alexandria Farhat is currently an undergraduate student studying Information Science and Computer Science at Michigan State University. It is her first research program working with Dr. Campos-Castillo and Dr. Laestadius.
Fridarose Hamad is a currently an undergraduate student at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee studying Political Science and English. She has been working with Dr. Campos-Castillo and Dr. Laestadius since the Summer of 2021.
Bios of Advisors
"Hi! My name is Sirrii and I'm from Milwaukee, WI. The reason I joined MYWIT is because I love being on social media and I was interested in learning more about how technology affects teen's mental health!! This program helped me gain a whole new perspective on social media and I'm so thankful for the experience."
"Hi, I'm Jaida. I'm 17 years old going into my senior year. I'm from Milwaukee, WI (shout out to 414!!) I joined MYWIT because I felt as though it would be a great experience to hear other youth talk about the same issues that stand out to me. MYWIT is a great organization for youth of all ages to get a better understanding on today's current news."
"Hi, my name is Nash. I'm from Milwaukee. I joined MYWIT because I was gonna be able to learn new things about how to track and formulate data from usage of social media but I was also able to give my input. I already knew about how social media affects my day to day life but also how social media is normally used. I like that this group gives teens an opportunity to speak about how social media affects them but also they get to learn more ways to make social media a positive thing and not only negative. This group has helped me meet new people but also learn more ways to formulate questions so we can get as much info from the person that is talking without assuming anything."
Meet Rosemary! A motivated student in Ann Arbor, Michigan who's interested in pursuing Biology and Public Health in college. He joined MYWIT to connect with like-minded people and help create new questions and ideas.
Contact Us
For questions about the program, please contact Prathyusha at: