We are conducting exciting research at Centre for Appearance Research (CAR) at UWE. The goal of our research is to co-create video blogs (vlogs) to improve mental health and body image among adolescent girls that will be delivered by social media influencers on YouTube. Central to our research is speaking with adolescent girls about their experience and engagement with social media influencers and mental health/body image content to better understand their experiences and needs. We are seeking a total of 5 girls between the ages of 14 and 18 from varied regions in the UK, of different ethnicities and diverse appearances.

Participants would be involved in the following two activities, following parental consent:

·      One two-hour online focus group consisting of five girls on Monday December 12^th (after school hours). Here she will be asked questions that will explore her social media use and engagement with influencers, and preferences for content delivered by social media influencers.

·      An all-day face-to-face workshop in London at YouTube’s office on Thursday February 16^th with social media influencers, academic researchers, and our industry partners from Dove and YouTube. At this workshop, all participants will work together to design a series of vlogs to be delivered by social media influencers. All expenses, including travel and accommodation will be covered. (She will need to be accompanied by a parent or a trusted adult, whose expenses will also be covered.)

The focus group and workshop will include a small amount of prep work, which will involve an activity that should take about 10 minutes before the focus group and the workshop. Following the workshop, she will receive a bank transfer of £200 from UWE to thank her for important contribution to our research.

I have also attached one graphic that can be shared with parents/guardians. Please note that further information can be found at the following links, which are also listed on the graphics:

• go.uwe.ac.uk/ParticipantInformation (for girls)
• go.uwe.ac.uk/ParentInformation (for parents)

As we only require a small group of girls to participate at this stage (10 girls), we will first ask a few questions about the girls, such as their age, ethnicity, and where they reside in the UK to ensure we have a wide variety of girls. As such, we can’t guarantee that every girl who is interested will be chosen.

If you are interested in taking part, please use the email address listed on the flyer or contact me at: farheen.hasan@uwe.ac.uk.