WODY – Well-Being in the Ongoing Digital Age: The German Child and Youth Panel Study
How does an increasingly digitalized environment influence the well-being and development of children and adolescents? This is the core question addressed by WODY. The aim of the study is to gain a comprehensive understanding of the determinants of child well-being and to examine the long-term impacts of digitalization on growing up.
WODY takes into account the diverse living environments in which children and youth grow up—ranging from family, school, and leisure to social relationships, as well as their broader social and spatial surroundings. This interdisciplinary study combines perspectives from psychology, sociology, economics, and educational science.
Within the framework of WODY, two birth cohorts will be followed over a period of up to 25 years: a cohort of 8-year-old schoolchildren starting in 2028, and a cohort of newborns starting in 2031. The quantitative panel study includes standardized surveys of children and parents at three-year intervals. Using innovative methods such as experience sampling and smartphone data donation, detailed insights into everyday life, media usage, and the well-being of participants are made possible at 18-month intervals. Furthermore, linking the study with existing data sources, such as administrative data and geospatial data, is planned.
WODY is the German contribution to the GUIDE collaborative study, the first Europe-wide comparative birth cohort study on children’s well-being. Other GUIDE partners include University College Dublin (Ireland), Manchester Metropolitan University (United Kingdom), the Institut National d’Études Démographiques (France), the University of Bologna (Italy), the Ivo Pilar Institute of Social Sciences (Croatia), the University of Helsinki (Finland), Glasgow Caledonian University (United Kingdom), University College London (United Kingdom), and Pompeu Fabra University (Spain). Through long-term, multidimensional data collection on the living conditions, media use, and well-being of children and adolescents, WODY, in collaboration with GUIDE, is creating a unique database to investigate developmental trajectories, social inequalities, and the significance of digital environments for growing up.
WODY is being carried out by a German consortium consisting of the German Youth Institute (DJI), the Federal Institute for Population Research (BiB), and Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg. The scientific project leadership is held by Dr. Sabine Düval (DJI), Prof. Dr. Michael Feldhaus (University of Oldenburg), Dr. Mathias Huebener (BiB), Prof. Dr. Susanne Kuger (DJI), Prof. Dr. C. Katharina Spieß (BiB), and Prof. Dr. Sabine Walper (DJI). At the European level, the GUIDE collaborative study is led by Seaneen Sloan (University College Dublin) and Gary Pollock (University of Manchester).
