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Youth WellTech: A Global Remote Co-Design Sprint for Youth Mental Health Technology

Kenji Phang, Siddharth Saarathi Pradhan, Chino Ikwuegbu, Gonzalo Ramos, Denae Ford, Ebele Okoli, Salman Muin Kayser Chishti, Jina Suh

TL;DR

Youth WellTech presents an 8-week remote co-design sprint that engages a globally diverse cohort of youth as co-researchers to envision mental well-being technologies. Using a modified design sprint rooted in human-centered design, the program organizes problem formulation, ideation, prototyping, testing, and final stakeholder presentations, producing three student prototypes (Social Media Tracker, ImpAct, AntiBinge). Data from transcripts, chats, artifacts, and reflections were analyzed with reflexive thematic analysis to extract cross-cutting themes about engagement, empowerment, alignment, and diversity. The study demonstrates the feasibility and value of youth-led, cross-cultural co-design for mental health technology and offers actionable guidance for future inclusive and educational co-design initiatives.

Abstract

Mental health is a pressing concern in today's digital age, particularly among youth who are deeply intertwined with technology. Despite the influx of technology solutions addressing mental health issues, youth often remain sidelined during the design process. While co-design methods have been employed to improve participation by youth, many such initiatives are limited to design activities and lack training for youth to research and develop solutions for themselves. In this case study, we detail our 8-week remote, collaborative research initiative called Youth WellTech, designed to facilitate remote co-design sprints aimed at equipping youth with the tools and knowledge to envision and design tech futures for their own communities. We pilot this initiative with 12 student technology evangelists across 8 countries globally to foster the sharing of mental health challenges and diverse perspectives. We highlight insights from our experiences running this global program remotely, its structure, and recommendations for co-research.

Youth WellTech: A Global Remote Co-Design Sprint for Youth Mental Health Technology

TL;DR

Youth WellTech presents an 8-week remote co-design sprint that engages a globally diverse cohort of youth as co-researchers to envision mental well-being technologies. Using a modified design sprint rooted in human-centered design, the program organizes problem formulation, ideation, prototyping, testing, and final stakeholder presentations, producing three student prototypes (Social Media Tracker, ImpAct, AntiBinge). Data from transcripts, chats, artifacts, and reflections were analyzed with reflexive thematic analysis to extract cross-cutting themes about engagement, empowerment, alignment, and diversity. The study demonstrates the feasibility and value of youth-led, cross-cultural co-design for mental health technology and offers actionable guidance for future inclusive and educational co-design initiatives.

Abstract

Mental health is a pressing concern in today's digital age, particularly among youth who are deeply intertwined with technology. Despite the influx of technology solutions addressing mental health issues, youth often remain sidelined during the design process. While co-design methods have been employed to improve participation by youth, many such initiatives are limited to design activities and lack training for youth to research and develop solutions for themselves. In this case study, we detail our 8-week remote, collaborative research initiative called Youth WellTech, designed to facilitate remote co-design sprints aimed at equipping youth with the tools and knowledge to envision and design tech futures for their own communities. We pilot this initiative with 12 student technology evangelists across 8 countries globally to foster the sharing of mental health challenges and diverse perspectives. We highlight insights from our experiences running this global program remotely, its structure, and recommendations for co-research.
Paper Structure (12 sections, 2 figures)

This paper contains 12 sections, 2 figures.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction and Background
  2. Youth WellTech
  3. Recruitment and participants
  4. Program overview
  5. Data collection and analysis
  6. Lessons Learned from Youth WellTech
  7. Co-design activities should be fun and engaging.
  8. Impactful co-design relies on comfort and empowerment.
  9. Co-design sessions are most impactful when participants have their goals aligned.
  10. Co-design could be enriched by diverse perspectives.
  11. Co-design should be educational.
  12. Conclusion

Figures (2)

  • Figure 1: A graphic showing the flow of the sessions that we carried out in the Youth WellTech program, which was outlined to the participants in the first meeting and closely matched the execution.
  • Figure 2: Prototypes generated as a result of the collaborative design process. (a) The Social Media Tracker (SMT) mobile app, designed to promote responsible and healthier social media usage through monitoring and regulation features.(b) The prototype ImpAct, a mobile app promoting holistic mental wellness through a diverse catalog of activities and guidance (c) A visual representation of AntiBinge, displaying real-time notifications related to ongoing quests. (d) This is followed by another representation indicating that your quest or mission has not been successful.