Dr Lizzy Winstone

Dr Lizzy Winstone, Senior Research Associate at the Centre for Public Health, was awarded an NIHR School for Public Health Research (SPHR) Postdoctoral Launching Fellowship at the University of Bristol from 2024 to 2026.

The fellowship provided Lizzy with dedicated time to develop an independent programme of public health research focused on young people’s mental health and digital environments. Building on earlier research into social media use and adolescent mental health, her work evolved to explore how platform design, recommendation algorithms and commercial incentives shape young people’s online experiences, mental health and health inequalities.

A major part of the fellowship was the SPHR ResNet-funded #ForYou study, which explored young people’s experiences of algorithm-driven social media. Working with young people and a multidisciplinary research team, Lizzy examined the content adolescents come across online and the systems that determine what they see. The fellowship also supported new collaborations with other early career researchers, including a systematic review of online misogyny and the mental health of women and girls, which was published in the journal, Women’s Health.

An important focus of the fellowship was turning research into policy and practice. A placement with the Molly Rose Foundation led to research with secondary school staff in England and Wales, identifying gaps in confidence and support around social media and algorithm literacy.

Dr Winstone also worked with young people to develop Mind Your Feed, a free classroom resource that helps younger adolescents understand how algorithmic feeds work and make more informed choices online.

The fellowship provided opportunities to engage with policymakers through initiatives such as the Royal Society Pairing Scheme, and her research has informed parliamentary and policy discussions on social media and young people’s mental health.

The fellowship has laid the foundations for the next stage of Dr Winstone’s research, which will examine social media as a commercial determinant of health. Her longer-term aim is to develop an independent programme of public health research examining how digital environments shape health and health inequalities, and how those environments can be modified through policy, regulation and intervention.

Key fellowship outputs

• #ForYou: Adolescent perspectives on social media algorithms and wellbeing – SPHR ResNet funded study, involving qualitative research and co-production with young people. The project generated two first-author papers and public and policy outputs:
• Algorithmic recommendation and adolescent mental health: a grounded theory study of social and commercial determinants – BMC Public Health (2026). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-026-28300-5
• Adolescents’ experiences of social media content types and wellbeing: a photo-elicitation interview study – Journal of Adolescence (2026). https://doi.org/10.1002/jad.70231  
• Mind Your Feed – a freely available classroom resource for Years 7-8, co-designed with young people to translate research on algorithms and wellbeing into practical support for schools: https://www.mindyourfeed.co.uk/
• Policy briefings on algorithmic literacy and adolescent mental health, including Algorithmic literacy must improve to support young people’s wellbeing (2025) and Protecting adolescent mental health requires regulating algorithms, not just screen time (2026).
• Is exposure to online misogyny associated with mental health outcomes in girls and young women? A systematic review of longitudinal studies – Women’s Health (in press). Developed through a new collaboration with early career researchers during the fellowship.
• Practice placement with the Molly Rose Foundation – research collaboration on social media and algorithmic literacy in schools, alongside development of longer-term research, policy and impact partnerships.
• Supporting social media and algorithmic literacy in secondary schools: school staff confidence, provision, and online harms – Pastoral Care in Education (2026). https://doi.org/10.1080/02643944.2026.2710985.
• Royal Society Pairing Scheme 2026 – engagement with Parliament around algorithmic recommendation, commercial platform design and adolescent mental health; the research subsequently featured in a House of Commons debate on online harms.
• Contribution to the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology POSTnote, Impacts of social media on children and young people – research cited across several areas, with contribution as an expert and external reviewer.