SMILEY is a social media-based chat program for teens ages 13-18 who have had negative online experiences (e.g., bullying, harassment, discrimination, etc.) and symptoms of depression. SMILEY is currently being tested by researchers to see if teens like using the chatbot. The researchers also want to know whether SMILEY can help teens better respond to and cope with negative online experiences and ultimately help teens have fewer of these experiences.

SMILEY has three main sections:

1. Providing teens tips and tricks on how to create safe spaces on social media for themselves and how to find supportive information and resources online.

2. Teaching teens coping skills (e.g., distraction, self-soothing) that they can use to feel better after having negative online experiences.

3. Encouraging teens to reach out to trusted, personalized contacts (e.g., friends, family members, professionals, and crisis hotlines) that can give them support following negative

SMILEY is hosted on Meta’s Messenger app. It does NOT use artificial intelligence to send responses “on the fly.” ALL responses and content that SMILEY sends to the user are previously written and vetted by the research team.

For Researchers

SMILEY is a digital mental health intervention that is delivered via an automated, scripted chatbot. The intervention seeks to reduce the risk of online victimization and the associated distress in youth at risk for suicide. We developed with and for youth, with lots of feedback from teens, their primary caregivers, and primary care providers. Currently, we are testing the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of SMILEY in a randomized controlled trial (RCT) with youth recruited from within the ETUDES Center.

SMILEY is hosted on Meta’s Messenger app. It does NOT use artificial intelligence to generate responses “on the fly.” ALL responses and content that SMILEY provides to the user are previously scripted and vetted by the research team.

Participants in this RCT are randomized to receive SMILEY + brief psychoeducation (intervention condition) or brief psychoeducation only (control condition).

SMILEY has three main intervention targets:

1. Social Media Self-Efficacy — SMILEY provides youth with psychoeducation on creating safe online spaces for themselves and how to find supportive information and resources online.

2. Distress Tolerance — SMILEY offers youth a library of skills (e.g., distraction, self-soothing) to help them enhance their ability to tolerate distress after experiencing online victimization.

3. Social Support — SMILEY provides youth with a list of personalized contacts (e.g., friends, family members, professionals, and crisis hotlines) that youth identify as people who can potentially offer support following online victimization.