Growing up online has changed what it means to be in a relationship.
Texts, social media, and constant connection are now part of how teens date, communicate, and grow. The CIELO Study is learning how these digital relationship experiences connect to teens’ emotions, mental health, and school life—and how adults can better support them.
Why CIELO?
Being a teen today means navigating relationships both in person and online.
Romantic relationships can bring excitement, connection, stress, and confusion—especially when communication happens through phones and social media. Messages can be misunderstood, feelings can escalate quickly, and it can be hard to take a break when you’re always connected.
Despite how common these experiences are, we know surprisingly little about what teen romantic relationships actually look like day to day—especially in digital spaces.
CIELO exists to change that by listening directly to teens.
What is the CIELO Study?
CIELO stands for Cultivating Interpersonal connections and Education engagement in youths’ Lives and Online Interactions.
Funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (1R01MH138928-01), CIELO is an online study aimed at exploring how Arizona teens’ mental health, relationships, and digital lives are all connected.
In doing so, we aim to:
Learn from teens and provide a way for them to share their perspectives on social media, academic engagement, and well-being.
Explore how teens are using their phones to communicate.
Develop ways to support teens early, before small issues become larger challenges.
We focus on real experiences, not labels—and we follow teens over time to understand how relationships change and develop
What’s involved?
Eligibility Survey. Teens will take a 3 min survey to determine their eligibility.
40 minute Surveys. Teens will complete 6, 30-40 minute surveys every 3 months for one year.
Short Daily Surveys. Teens will complete 5-10 minute, daily surveys for 7 consecutive days, once a month for one year.
Who is behind this study?
The CIELO Study is a research study conducted by Dr. Thao Ha, Dr. Miriam Brinberg, and researchers at the @HEART Lab in the Department of Psychology at Arizona State University. This work is funded through a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health (1R01MH138928-01).
