MoodTECHWISENCT06664944
Technology Exposure and Child Health: Wellness Impact and Social Effects: An Observational Product Registry Study
An observational study of Mood and Depression Disorders, run by Aura at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
The goal of this study is to understand how children's mobile device usage (smartphones or tablets), including social media use and online games, are related to their mental wellness and mental health, as well as some aspects of their physical activity and sleep. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 8 to 17 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Mood, Depression Disorders, Anxiety Disorders
- Type of treatment
- Pill or oral medicine
- How many people
- 912 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- 15 Nov 2024to 13 Apr 2026
- How long will I take part?
- 3 Months
- Phase
- Observational
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 8 to 17 years
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Child
Study population: US-based, English-speaking, parents and children who use mobile devices for social media and online games.
Who may be able to join
- Child participants are male, female, non-binary persons, ages 8-17, inclusive
- Parent/Authorized Legal Guardian willing to provide informed consent; child willing to provide assent
- Both Parent/Authorized Legal Guardian and child own a mobile device that already has the Aura app or is able to install and run the Aura app, and the appropriate parental control features.
- Parent/Authorized Legal Guardian and child are willing for child to use a dedicated device for the duration of the study (ie., child cannot share device with a sibling or other family member).
- Multiple children from the same family are eligible to participate, provided that each enrolled child uses a dedicated device AND is able to complete outcome assessments independently, AND that parent/authorized legal guardian is able to complete assessments for each enrolled child.
- Both Parent/Authorized Legal Guardian and child willing to share data collected as part of the Aura app and related device applications
Show all 9Show fewer
- Consented Parent/Authorized Legal Guardian and child maintain active Aura accounts throughout their study participation
- Consented Parent/Authorized Legal Guardian and child are able to follow written and verbal instructions (English) as assessed by the PI and/or study coordinator
- Consented Parent/Authorized Legal Guardian and child are to comply with all testing and study requirements
Who cannot join
None listed.
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
About this study
Official title: Technology Exposure and Child Health: Wellness Impact and Social Effects (TECHWISE): An Observational Product Registry Study
The goal of this study is to understand how children's mobile device usage (smartphones or tablets), including social media use and online games, are related to their mental wellness and mental health, as well as some aspects of their physical activity and sleep. This study is available to all children between the ages of 8 and 17 years and a parent/caregiver.
Researchers will compare participant mobile device usage with their survey responses on sleep, stress, mental health, and physical activity, as well as their parent/caregiver's survey responses.
Read more
Participants will:
- run the Aura app with parental controls on their dedicated mobile device
- complete monthly surveys
- answer daily questions on mood, stress, sleep and physical activity
The study is fully virtual. Duration is 3 months.
Read the detailed description
Once enrolled, child participants will use their mobile devices as usual, and Aura will collect data on on-line and off-line activity, app usage, social interaction, sleep, location and activity levels.
The child participant will complete surveys on a monthly basis, including:
- A range of questionnaires about feelings and behaviors that are associated with mental health challenges
- Questionnaires that ask about well-being and positive feelings, including relationships with family and friends
- Questionnaires that ask about experiences with social media and device usage
- A questionnaire about feelings of loneliness
- A questionnaire that asks about activity sleep
In parallel, the parent participant will complete monthly surveys about the child, including:
- Medical history and changes
- A range of questionnaires about feelings and behaviors that are associated with mental health challenges
- Questionnaires that ask about well-being and positive feelings, including relationships with family and friends
- Conditions
- Mood, Depression Disorders, Anxiety Disorders, Sleep, Eating Disorders, Physical Activity
- Keywords
- digital health, digital mental health, technology impacts on mental health, digital natives, digital parenthood, child online safety, digital wellness, child online well-being
- Medical subject headings
- Anxiety Disorders, Feeding and Eating Disorders, Motor Activity
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Children 8-17 years old | Over 84% of children ages 8 and up have access to a mobile device (smartphone, tablet) and are active on social media. This study focuses on children ages 8-17 to better understand social media usage and how it relates to their mental well-being. |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Assess ongoing technology use to explore children's online behaviors and derived health behaviors.
Assess ongoing technology use via the Aura app, including social media and other online behaviors, as well as other smartphone derived health behaviors, such as sleep, location, and activity levels.
Measured: December 2025
Secondary outcomes (2)
Examine bivariate associations between technology use features and mental wellness and mental health outcomes
Given the wide range of variables that can be derived from the Aura app, and the number of assessments that will be collected, all analyses should be considered exploratory. As an initial exploration of this objective, we will conduct simple bivariate analyses between technology use variables and mental health outcomes. Example questions include:
- Are the temporal patterns of device usage (eg., more evening or late-night use) associated with sleep or physical activity outcome measures?
- Does digital stress mediate the relationship between device usage and mental health outcomes?
Measured: December 2025
Develop preliminary predictive models that use technology use and smartphone-derived parameters to predict point-in-time mental health outcomes
Develop preliminary predictive models that use technology use and smartphone-derived parameters to predict point-in-time mental health outcomes, as well as change over time.
A wide range of analytic techniques will be used to develop and evaluate predictive models to determine whether mental health related outcomes and their change over time can be reliably predicted from device usage data. Example prediction models that may be evaluated but are not limited to the following:
Do patterns/changes in device-mediated social interactions predict presence/severity of loneliness? Are there specific patterns of keyboard data (specific search terms, text messaging sentiment, etc.) that predict changes in mood or anxiety outcomes? Related, do patterns of keyboard activity map onto daily ratings of mood/stress/anxiety? Can patterns of device usage predict changes in health care utilization over time?
Measured: December 2025
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted30 Oct 2024
- Study start15 Nov 2024
- Primary completion13 Apr 2026
- Study completion13 Apr 2026
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Publications (1)Papers the sponsor has linked to this study.
- Other trials for MoodStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Observational
- Observational model
- Cohort
- Time perspective
- Prospective
- Enrolment
- 912 participants (actual)
- Target duration
- 3 Months
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Aura
- Sponsor type
- Industry (pharma, biotech, devices)
- Responsible party
- Sponsor
- Investigators
- Scott Kollins, Doctorate in Psychology, Principal investigator, Aura
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT06664944
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 20243405
- Acronym
- TECHWISE
- Status last verified
- Apr 2026
- First submitted
- 28 Oct 2024
- Last updated
- 15 Apr 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- No
Publications
Kollins SH, Flannery J, Goetz K, Akre-Bhide S. Technology Effects and Child Health: Wellness Impact and Social Effects (TECHWISE): Protocol for a Prospective, Observational, Real-World Study. JMIR Res Protoc. 2025 Jun 19;14:e69358. doi: 10.2196/69358.
PubMed 40424191
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 15 Apr 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Technology Exposure and Child Health: Wellness Impact and Social Effects (TECHWISE): An Observational Product Registry Study
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT06664944
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- TECHWISE / 20243405
- Conditions
- Mood, Depression Disorders, Anxiety Disorders, Sleep, Eating Disorders, Physical Activity
- Keywords
- digital health, digital mental health, technology impacts on mental health, digital natives, digital parenthood, child online safety, digital wellness, child online well-being
- Study type
- Observational
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 912 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- AuraIndustry (pharma, biotech, devices)
- Study start
- 15 Nov 2024 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 13 Apr 2026 (actual)
- Study completion
- 13 Apr 2026 (actual)
- First posted
- 30 Oct 2024 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
The goal of this study is to understand how children's mobile device usage (smartphones or tablets), including social media use and online games, are related to their mental wellness and mental health, as well as some aspects of their physical activity and sleep. This study is available to all children between the ages of 8 and 17 years and a parent/caregiver.
Researchers will compare participant mobile device usage with their survey responses on sleep, stress, mental health, and physical activity, as well as their parent/caregiver's survey responses.
Participants will:
- run the Aura app with parental controls on their dedicated mobile device
- complete monthly surveys
- answer daily questions on mood, stress, sleep and physical activity
The study is fully virtual. Duration is 3 months.
Detailed description
Once enrolled, child participants will use their mobile devices as usual, and Aura will collect data on on-line and off-line activity, app usage, social interaction, sleep, location and activity levels.
The child participant will complete surveys on a monthly basis, including:
- A range of questionnaires about feelings and behaviors that are associated with mental health challenges
- Questionnaires that ask about well-being and positive feelings, including relationships with family and friends
- Questionnaires that ask about experiences with social media and device usage
- A questionnaire about feelings of loneliness
- A questionnaire that asks about activity sleep
In parallel, the parent participant will complete monthly surveys about the child, including:
- Medical history and changes
- A range of questionnaires about feelings and behaviors that are associated with mental health challenges
- Questionnaires that ask about well-being and positive feelings, including relationships with family and friends
Study design
- Observational model
- Cohort
- Time perspective
- Prospective
- Target follow-up
- 3 Months
- Number of arms
- 1
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Children 8-17 years old | – | –Over 84% of children ages 8 and up have access to a mobile device (smartphone, tablet) and are active on social media. This study focuses on children ages 8-17 to better understand social media usage and how it relates to their mental well-being. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 8 to 17 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Child
- Study population
- US-based, English-speaking, parents and children who use mobile devices for social media and online games.
Key inclusion criteria (9 listed)
- Child participants are male, female, non-binary persons, ages 8-17, inclusive
- Parent/Authorized Legal Guardian willing to provide informed consent; child willing to provide assent
- Both Parent/Authorized Legal Guardian and child own a mobile device that already has the Aura app or is able to install and run the Aura app, and the appropriate parental control features.
- Parent/Authorized Legal Guardian and child are willing for child to use a dedicated device for the duration of the study (ie., child cannot share device with a sibling or other family member).
- Multiple children from the same family are eligible to participate, provided that each enrolled child uses a dedicated device AND is able to complete outcome assessments independently, AND that parent/authorized legal guardian is able to complete assessments for each enrolled child.
Key exclusion criteria (0 listed)
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Primary outcome
Assess ongoing technology use to explore children's online behaviors and derived health behaviors.
Time frame: December 2025
Assess ongoing technology use via the Aura app, including social media and other online behaviors, as well as other smartphone derived health behaviors, such as sleep, location, and activity levels.
2 secondary outcomes
Examine bivariate associations between technology use features and mental wellness and mental health outcomes
Time frame: December 2025
Develop preliminary predictive models that use technology use and smartphone-derived parameters to predict point-in-time mental health outcomes
Time frame: December 2025
Results and safety
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 15 Apr 2026.
- Derived from this study: PubMed 40424191Kollins SH, Flannery J, Goetz K, Akre-Bhide S. Technology Effects and Child Health: Wellness Impact and Social Effects (TECHWISE): Protocol for a Prospective, Observational, Real-World Study. JMIR Res Protoc. 2025 Jun 19;14:e69358. doi: 10.2196/69358.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: No
Related trials for Mood
Recruiting
Unified Protocol in Penitentiary Facilities
Depression Disorders, Anxiety
Not yet recruiting
Preventive and Personalized Digital Emotion Regulation Skills Intervention to Reduce Depression and Anxiety in Youths With Adverse Childhood Experiences
Adverse Childhood Experience, Depression / Major Depressive Disorder
RecruitingPhase 4
Biomarker-Guided Antidepressant Selection
Depression - Major Depressive Disorder, Treatment-resistant Depression (TRD)
Recruiting
Targeting Network Dysfunction in Apathy of Late-life Depression Using Digital Therapeutics
Major Depressive Disorder, Apathy
RecruitingObservational study
Psychotherapy for Irritability in Youth: Comparing Active Treatment to Nonactive Psychoeducation Supportive Psychotherapy
Irritability, Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder
Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
Scott Kollins, Doctorate in Psychology principal investigator
Aura
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
An observational study of Mood and Depression Disorders, run by Aura at 1 site in United States.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 9 inclusion and 0 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 15 Apr 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Assess ongoing technology use to explore children's online behaviors and derived health behaviors. (time frame: December 2025). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT06664944, which also lists 1 linked publication.
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 15 Apr 2026.