Notice of Intent to Publish a Funding Opportunity Announcement for Impact of Technology and Digital Media Exposure Usage on Child and Adolescent Development
NICHD plans to fund research on how technology and digital media use affects child and adolescent development, encouraging multidisciplinary teams to study impacts on health, behavior, and family interactions.
Funder: National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Due Dates: June 30, 2026 (estimated, forecasted)
Funding Amounts: $3,000,000 estimated total program funding; award size and duration to be announced (phased R61/R33 mechanism)
Summary: Supports research on the impact of technology and digital media exposure and usage on child and adolescent development, including effects on families and communities.
Key Information: This is a forecasted opportunity; applications are not being solicited yet.
Description
The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) plans to release a funding opportunity to support research examining how technology and digital media (TDM) exposure and usage affect children and adolescents. TDM includes social media, apps, websites, television, films, AI, mobile devices, computers, video games, VR/AR, and related platforms. With TDM now deeply woven into daily life from an early age, there is an urgent need to understand its impacts—positive, neutral, or negative—on health, development, and social interactions.
The initiative seeks to address knowledge gaps regarding TDM’s influence on children’s health, development, and their interactions with family, peers, and society. Collaborative, multidisciplinary teams are encouraged, especially those combining expertise in behavioral sciences, cognition, computational modeling, computer science, neurodevelopment, pediatrics, social sciences, and related fields. The mechanism will be a phased R61/R33 award.
