AI-supported youth social connection

Loneliness is a growing challenge for young people, yet many feel unsure where to start when trying to build social connections, and few view traditional services as places to turn to for help. This Google-funded project investigates whether AI could contribute to a youth-friendly form of social prescribing, supporting young people to more easily discover and access real-world social opportunities in ways that feel relevant, trustworthy and safe via digital pathways.

More than 700 young people across Victoria expressed interest in participating, with over 200 registering to test future prototypes. Co-design and discovery workshops with diverse 18- to 29-year-olds explored how young people search for activities, what barriers shape their decisions and what kinds of support genuinely help. Interviews with youth workers, local government staff and community organisations added crucial system-level perspectives. Three young people were also employed as youth co-researchers, strengthening lived-experience leadership throughout the process.Drawing on these inputs, the project examines the feasibility of a youth-focused digital social prescribing model and considering how AI might support key stages of the social participation journey, including building awareness, strengthening confidence and sustaining engagement over time. The emerging findings offer youth-informed design principles and ethical guardrails to guide the responsible development of technologies aimed at strengthening in-person social connection.

Support

  • Supported by a Google Social Impact Grant ($114,557).

Team

  • Professor Nikki Rickard
  • Dr Simon D'Alfonso
  • Simone Minett
  • Kenji Cui
  • Tom Whitford

Contact: Professor Nikki Rickard Email: <nrickard@unimelb.edu.au>

Outputs