Youth in Mind Foundation and Obvia join forces to better understand the links between AI, digital technology and youth mental health
Digital technology and artificial intelligence are playing an increasingly important role in young people’s daily lives. Youth in Mind Foundation’s strategic monitoring work has helped bring these emerging issues to light and highlighted the need to approach them thoughtfully and responsibly.
To better understand their impact on mental health, Youth in Mind Foundation is proud to announce a new partnership with Obvia, the International Observatory on the Societal Impacts of AI and Digital Technology.
This collaboration is supported by a committee of approximately ten recognized Quebec researchers with complementary areas of expertise, ranging from AI ethics and psychology to psychoeducation, public health, sexology, technopedagogy and media studies.
It is rooted in a shared belief: issues related to digital technology, artificial intelligence and youth mental health require close dialogue between research and practice.
By bringing together Obvia’s scientific expertise and the Foundation’s on-the-ground presence with young people, families, schools and living environments, this partnership aims to develop a shared understanding of the emerging realities young people are experiencing. It will also help better align the needs observed in the field with knowledge generated through research.
The Foundation will contribute its network of schools, parents and young people, its qualitative field observations, and its ability to translate scientific knowledge into concrete, accessible content shared directly with the audiences concerned. For its part, Obvia will mobilize its network of specialized researchers and its privileged access to knowledge and research findings on the societal impacts of artificial intelligence. This two-way exchange is at the heart of the partnership.
The first concrete step in this process will be to map young people’s use of conversational AI. This work will help better understand how young people use conversational AI, as well as the potential benefits, perceived risks and grey areas associated with it. It will then guide the development of messages, content and tools adapted to the needs of young people and the adults who support them.
The project will pay particular attention to how young people seek help in situations of distress, as well as to the emotional bonds that may develop with certain digital tools or emotional companions.
The goal is to inform the development of concrete, accessible and useful content and tools to support young people and the adults who accompany them. Over time, this collaboration may contribute to the creation of articles, educational fact sheets, turnkey activities, video capsules and other resources adapted to the needs of young people, families, schools and community organizations.
This partnership marks the beginning of an evolving process rooted in a shared responsibility to better understand and respond to the challenges raised by digital technology and artificial intelligence. Youth in Mind Foundation and Obvia hope to bring this collective effort to life and reinvest it in concrete ways for the benefit of young people and their communities.
A first joint presence is also planned at the Grand Forum de prévention du suicide, organized by the Association québécoise de prévention du suicide, which will take place from November 2 to 4, 2026. This participation will provide a first opportunity to bring the collaboration to life in a spirit of knowledge sharing and research-based action.
Youth in Mind Foundation thanks Obvia, as well as the researchers and collaborators involved in this initiative, for their commitment to deepening our understanding of the issues affecting youth mental health.
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