More Background:
Online victimization (i.e., disparaging remarks, symbols, images, or behaviors that inflict harm in online spaces) frequently occurs on social media and is linked to depression and suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Over half of Black and Hispanic youth experience a form of race-based online victimization involving derogation or exclusion, and LGBTQ+ youth experience online victimization at three times the rate of non-LGBTQ+ youth. Chatbots are software programs that use artificial intelligence to simulate conversation with a user via text, voice, or video, and can be deployed on social media, SMS, or can be web-based. SMILEY (Social Media Intervention for Online Victimized Youth) will be a chatbot intervention deployed on social media for youth, focusing particularly on Black, LGBTQ+, and Hispanic youth, with moderate to severe depression who experience online victimization. SMILEY will aim to reduce frequency of online victimization and related stress via 1) psychoeducation to increase social media skills and confidence in one’s ability to successfully find supportive information and resources online 2) digital resources to bolster distress tolerance following online victimization. To explore its implementation potential, we will include youth, caregivers, and providers at all steps of development, testing, and evaluation. We aim to collaboratively develop an intervention that is acceptable and feasible for Black, Hispanic, and LGBTQ+ youth, thus addressing a source of health disparities in these groups. Should SMILEY prove feasible, acceptable, and effectively targets distress and frequency of online victimization, this study will provide the basis for a larger clinical trial.