Emily is a developmental psychologist and researcher at Project Zero, where she co-founded the Center for Digital Thriving. Her research centers youth voices to uncover adolescents' experiences with new and changing technologies. Emily also routinely translates findings into usable resources that bridge research and practice to help caring adults better support young people's digital agency and wellbeing.
PZ Work
With Dr. Carrie James and Dr. Beck Tench, Emily co-founded the Center for Digital Thriving (CDT), a research and innovation center at PZ bridging the gap between research on teens and screens and classroom practice. CDT supports educators and researchers with translational, evidence-based insights and classroom-ready resources that center youth voices. "Our work is grounded in critical optimism," she says. "We engage thoughtfully with the challenges of life online while holding onto a hopeful vision of a thriving future young people deserve."
Explore the CDT site and latest research reports, including topics like "grind culture" and the hidden pressures shaping teens’ AI experiences. You’ll also find usable resources like the Thinking Traps Glossary for social media, Tech + Values Sort, and a growing suite of IMAGINE AI resources that help educators build AI agency with their students like the Align on the Line and Making AI Pressures Visible classroom practices. If you’re new to CDT, the "Teaching Digital Well-being" white paper is a great place to begin.
Notable Publications
Emily's published work includes the book Behind Their Screens: What Teens Are Facing (And Adults Are Missing) with co-author Carrie James, which details insights from original research with more than 3,000 U.S.-based youth. She also contributed toYouth Well-Being by Design, a newly published volume edited by Carrie James and Mizuko Ito that focuses on the realities and nuances of youth experiences with tech that dominant narratives too often fail to capture.
Emily's academic work has also been published in peer-reviewed journals across multiple fields, including communication, psychology, and youth development. Recent papers include a 2025 Psychology of Popular Media paper (with Sara Konrath, Carrie James, and Beck Tench) on the development and validation of the Tech With Care Index for teens; a 2024 study with Common Sense Media, Center for Digital Thriving, and Indiana University on grind culture and burnout among American teens; and a 2023 JAMA Network Open analysis (with Sarah Coyne, J. Andan Sheppard, and colleagues) examining social media use, mental health, and gender identity among U.S. youth.
Beyond PZ
Emily holds a doctorate in Human Development and Education and a master's degree in Prevention Science and Practice, both from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She is also passionate about youth voice, empowering digital agency, and helping communities rethink digital citizenship. She is a longtime collaborator of Common Sense Education and works closely on research behind their award-winning digital citizenship curriculum.
Emily's Projects and Publications
Emily's PZ Pick
Check out Behind Their Screens: What Teens Are Facing (And Adults Are Missing) for what Emily and Carrie James learned from more than 3,500 teens—and what they most wish adults understood about their digital lives.