As a PhD student, Orben questioned the methods applied by
Jean Twenge and others who had arrived at claims about the negative effects of technology and social media use. In 2021, Orben was appointed a programme leader at the
MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit. Her research considers novel methodologies to understand how screen time and use of social media impacts psychological well-being in adolescents. Post-millennial mental health (in particular stress, depression and anxiety) is reportedly worse than in previous generations, which is often attributed to social media. Orben showed that this wasn't the entire story: statistically speaking, eating a potato every day had a worse impact on well-being. She argued that social media can be helpful in times of anxiety and loneliness. Orben believes that significant quantities of high quality data about how children engage with technology could be provided by technology giants such as Google and Facebook. Orben has criticised several of the methodologies currently being used, which largely rely on self-report methods and generate incorrect results. an international journal club for researchers to discuss improving science. == Awards and honours ==