All Resources

✦Digital Well-being: Tech Use & Adolescent Mental Health

Statistics Canada

Canadian data linking social, messaging, and gaming use with mental health, sleep, and cybervictimization.

Read the Report

✶Young Canadians in a Wireless World: Life Online

MediaSmarts

Canada’s flagship study on youth & tech—wellbeing, unplugging, and experiences online.

Read the Report

✸Digital Well-Being of Canadian Families

MediaSmarts

What supports healthy family tech habits and balance.

Read the Report

✺Children’s Wellbeing in a Digital World — Index

Internet Matters

Annual index tracking how online experiences shape wellbeing.

See Report

✷Teens, Social Media & Mental Health (2025)

Pew Research Center

Fresh data on teen experiences and perceived impacts of social media.

Read Now

✧APA Health Advisory: Social Media in Adolescence

American Psychological Association

Evidence-informed recommendations to minimize risks and maximize benefits.

Download PDF

✹Exposure to Harmful Online Content (Canada)

Statistics Canada

Who encounters harmful content and how often.

See Findings

✵How’s Life in the Digital Age

OECD

Synthesis of research on 39 digital impacts on wellbeing.

Read the Report

★Research Database

Digital Futures for Children

Free database of good-quality research on children’s digital lives.

Explore Now

✴Digital and Privacy Rights: Resources for Children, Youth, Educators, & Parents

Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario

Resources for advancing digital rights, and preparing to be safe and responsible digital citizens.

Explore

✳Teen Digital Well-Being Guide

Susan Crown Exchange

Three youth-tested activities to build healthier digital habits.

Get the Guide

❋Children’s Rights in the Digital Age – In Our Own Words

5Rights Foundation

Youth-friendly version of the UN General Comment No. 25.

Read Now

✦Your Rights Online

Digital Futures for Children

Youth-friendly site about rights, safety, and fun online.

Explore

✶Report Harmful Content

UK Safer Internet Centre

How to report or remove abuse/disrespect across platforms.

Use the Tool

✸NeedHelpNow.ca

Canadian Centre for Child Protection

Steps to take if an intimate image of a minor is shared online.

Get Support

✺How Technology Can Be Part of a Happy Life

Greater Good Science Center

Science-based tips for tech that supports happiness.

Read Article

✷Why Going Offline Might Save Us

Science of Happiness (GGSC)

What we gain by unplugging and reconnecting IRL.

Listen Now

✧Healthy Relationship with Technology

Greater Good Science Center

Curated, evidence-based tips and activities.

View Resources

✹BBC Bitesize: Happy & Healthy Online

BBC

Interactive lessons and games for younger audiences.

Explore

✵Smiling Mind

Smiling Mind

Free nonprofit mindfulness app with age-based programs for kids, teens, and adults.

Get App

★Calm Harm

stem4

$2.99 in Canada: provides strategies to manage the urge to self-harm.

Get App

✴Daylio

Daylio

Free journaling and mood tracking app to support self-reflection and wellbeing.

Get App

✳Clear Fear

stem4

$2.99 in Canada: app offers strategies to manage anxiety, developed with youth input.

Get App

❋Move Mood

stem4

Free app supporting young people to increase motivation and improve mood.

Get App

✦Combined Minds

stem4

$2.99 in Canada: gives guidance for friends and family supporting someone with mental health challenges.

Get App

✶Apart of Me

Apart of Me

Therapeutic game designed to help young people cope with grief and loss.

Get App

✸Embracing Life App

Embracing Life Initiative

Feel more positive/connected and reach out to support someone you’re worried about.

Get the App

✺Rights of the Child in the Digital Environment

United Nations – General Comment No. 25

Authoritative guidance on implementing children’s rights online.

Read Now

✷Digital Citizenship Curriculum

Common Sense Education

Free K–12 curriculum on balance, empathy, privacy and respect online.

Get Curriculum

✧Social Media Advice Hub

Internet Matters

Tips for families and schools to foster respect and kindness online.

Go to Hub

✹Dealing with Online Abuse / Negative Behaviour

eSafety Commissioner (Australia)

Practical support for LGBTIQ+ young people and the adults who help them.

Learn More

✵Be an Upstander

Canadian Museum for Human Rights

Interactive toolkit for responding to online hate and disrespect.

Visit Resource

★Canada's State of the Youth Report

Government of Canada

Results and recommendations from consultations with 996 young people across Canada, including Health & Wellness.

Read the Report

✴RadioCast

Prateek Keshari

Listen to radio stations from around the world for free

Listen Now

✳Scoping Review of Children’s and Youth’s Outdoor Play in Canada

Louise de Lannoy et al.

A landscape review (275 studies) on how outdoor play is studied in Canada, noting that Indigenous and land-based play is underrepresented.

Read Now

❋Bringing a Trauma-Sensitive Focus into Children’s Active Play

Sport for Life / SIRC

Guidance on designing play experiences that are trauma-aware, responsive, and healing.

Learn More

✦Children’s Right to Unstructured Play

Canadian Public Health Association

Position statement affirming children’s right to unstructured play and its importance for health.

Learn More

✶Video Gaming 101: Healthy vs. Problematic Gaming

Institute of Digital Media & Child Development

Clear overview for families and educators—useful to youth too—on healthy vs. problematic gaming.

Read Here

✸State of Play: Healthy & Problematic Video Gaming

Children and Screens

Research-informed guide to how gaming can support or strain wellbeing, with practical takeaways.

Read Here

✺Recreational Screen Time & Mental Health (Canada)

Public Health Agency of Canada

Analysis of 2019 CHSCY data: more recreational screen time is linked to lower odds of positive mental health.

Read Here

✷Open Library

Internet Archive Project

Free, playful discovery of stories and ideas—read classics, comics, and contemporary titles without a subscription.

Start Reading

✧Explore.org: Live Nature & Wildlife Cam Network

Explore Media / Annenberg Foundation

Watch live animal and nature cameras from around the world – quiet, beautiful, and grounding.

Explore Nature

✹Make My Drive Fun

Interactive Road-Trip Map Tool

Enter your start & end locations to discover quirky stops, hidden gems, and fun along your route. Please note that inputting routes uses location & map data.

Plan Your Route

✵Signs You Need a Break from Online (and What to Do)

Digital Wellbeing Hub

How to spot when you need a reset—plus an interactive Community Play-Book for off-screen rest, play, and boredom.

Check It Out

★Building Better Tech Habits Guide

MediaSmarts (Canada)

Youth-facing guide for balancing screen time, play, and healthy tech habits.

Read Guide

✴Podcast: Who’s Watching? How Tech Companies Profit from Children’s Data

5Rights Foundation

5Rights Youth Ambassador Srishti talks with Prof. Shoshana Zuboff about how big tech harvests young people’s data.

Listen

✳Youth Digital Wellbeing

International Youth-Led Project

A youth-led hub with resources, events, and tools for navigating digital life.

Visit Site

❋Social Media & Society

Center for Humane Technology

Watch The Social Dilemma and use the youth toolkit to take control and imagine platforms for the common good.

Explore

✦SickKids: Screen Time Tips

AboutKidsHealth (SickKids)

Practical strategies to set healthy limits and reduce time gradually.

Read Tips

✶Screen Safety Toolkit for Teachers & Parents

Interior Health (Canada)

Guidance on screen safety, healthy play, and wellness for schools and families.

Read Toolkit

✸Using Parental Controls: Tip Sheet

MediaSmarts

Step-by-step guide for parental controls across devices, social media, and games.

Read Tip Sheet

✺Sport Information Resource Centre (SIRC)

Canada

Evidence-based resources to make sport and physical activity more fun, safe, and inclusive for all.

Visit SIRC

✷Rebooting Social Media

Harvard’s Berkman Klein Center

Research and resources for re-imagining healthier online social spaces for youth.

Visit

✧Hoopla Digital

Public Library Media Platform

Stream or download books, movies, TV shows, and music — all free with your public library card. Access entertainment and learning without limits.

Explore Hoopla

✹Well Beings: Conversation Card Deck

Young Lives Research Lab

An easy-to-play game designed to spark meaningful conversations about wellbeing in a digital age. Developed by our Canadian Youth Advisory Committee in the research project Partnership for Youth and Planetary Wellbeing.

Play Now

✵Digital Futures for Children: Your Rights Online

Digital Futures for Children (LSE/UWA)

Resources for children and youth to learn about their digital rights, online belonging, and community.

Explore here

★Teaching Digital Well-Being: Evidence-Based Resources to Help Youth Thrive

Harvard Project Zero

Resources for educators and communities on digital wellbeing, belonging, and healthy connection.

Explore resources

✴People for Education: The Education Promise

People for Education (Canada)

Policy and research work on education, youth wellbeing, and impacts of digital tech (e.g., cell phone bans in schools).

Read here

✳Young People’s Sense of Belonging Online

Digital Wellness Lab

A research brief tackling how online spaces can bolster belonging — and also the paradoxes (harm vs. support).

Read brief

❋Safe Online Communities for Kids and Teens

InternetMatters.org

Advice on finding safe, welcoming online communities for belonging and connection. Please note: InternetMatters has partial funding and partnerships with big tech, potential for pro-big-tech bias.

Read guide

✦Students Commission of Canada (SCC)

Students Commission of Canada

National platform for youth to connect, share voices, and engage in projects both online and in person. The SCC is a key partner in the development of this Hub.

Visit SCC

✶Jack.org

Jack.org

Youth-led mental health network that empowers young people to create stigma-free, supportive communities.

Visit Jack.org

✸Archive Our Youth

Young Lives Research Lab

Explore and add to this time capsule of youth and planetary wellbeing in a digital age. Created by our Youth Advisory Committee in the Partnership for Youth and Planetary Wellbeing project.

Visit the Archive

✺4Rs Youth Movement – Resource Library

4Rs Youth Movement (Canada)

A national Indigenous-youth-led organization offering a wide range of free resources for education, leadership, reconciliation, wellbeing, and community connection. The library includes toolkits, guides, zines, reports, and videos co-created with youth, covering identity, culture, belonging, environment, and resilience.

Explore the library

✷Epic Hero Life Mastery Program

PhinkLife

A free online self-paced program designed to help young people build confidence, resilience, and purpose through practical tools and personal reflection. Includes interactive exercises and lessons framed around the “hero’s journey.” Recommended by the 4Rs Youth Movement.

Explore program

✧Advice for Neurodivergent Children Online

InternetMatters.org

Tailored guidance for neurodivergent youth on safe, supportive online connection. Explore guides to support keeping them safe. Notes: 1) InternetMatters is partially funded and in partnership with big-tech/big-media, potential for bias. 2) As our research snapshot notes, be mindful that sometimes efforts to ‘protect’ kids online become invasive surveillance that harms child/youth agency. Co-creating rules and protection measures with young people is advised.

Read here

✹U-Report Canada: Youth Voices on AI & Climate Change

UNICEF Canada

Interactive polls capturing youth perspectives on digital technology and global issues.

AI report

✵Centre of Excellence on Social Media & Youth Mental Health

American Academy of Pediatrics

Curated resources for educators, families, and clinicians to support healthy online belonging.

Explore resources

★Meetup.com

Community platform

Community platform to join free meetups for hobbies, culture, and social belonging in local communities.

Visit Meetup

✴The 4Rs Framework

4Rs Youth Movement

Foundational framework document co-created with Indigenous youth and allies, outlining key values of respect, reciprocity, reconciliation, and relevance in youth work and education.

Read the framework (PDF)

✳A+ Alliance – for inclusive algorithms

Feminist Research Alliance

Global coalition advancing inclusive algorithms and digital systems that support equity and belonging.

Visit Now

❋Impact of Regulation on Children’s Digital Lives

Digital Futures for Children

How UK/EU privacy laws shifted platforms toward safer defaults for kids—private accounts, limits on targeting—and what still needs work.

Read the Report

✦On Compliance

5Rights Foundation

Articles, briefs, and press on making digital services meet children’s rights and regulatory standards.

Learn More

✶Avoiding Fraud: Common Frauds and Scams

Canadian Securities Administrators

Learn about common frauds and scams and how to spot them.

Learn More

✸Child Online Safety Toolkit

5Rights Foundation

Practical guidance for policymakers and advocates to build age-appropriate, safe-by-design digital spaces.

Get the Toolkit

✺Building Resilience to Online Misinformation

MediaSmarts (Canada)

Canadian research on how misinformation spreads—and strategies that help youth recognize and resist it.

Read the Report

✷Fact Checking!

MediaSmarts

Hands-on tools and videos—like “Break the Fake” and the Teen Fact-Checking Network—to verify claims and stop the spread.

Explore Resources

✧Online Safety Resources

UNICEF Australia

Guides for parents and teachers to help kids navigate risks, report harm, and stay safe online.

View Guides

✹Manipulation Nation

Digital Public Square

An educational tool that provides people with skills to identify manipulative content and tactics online.

Play Now

✵Podcast: Who’s Watching? Surveillance Capitalism

5Rights Foundation – Podcast

How data-driven business models affect children’s rights and democracy, in plain language.

Listen Now

★Convention on the Rights of the Child

United Nations

The global treaty protecting children from harm and upholding their rights—offline and online.

Read the Convention

✴MediaSmarts

Canada’s Centre for Digital Media Literacy

Programs and classroom-ready lessons to build critical thinking, privacy awareness, and safer online habits.

Visit Site

✳Internet Matters

Guides for Parents & Educators

Step-by-step safety guides, device controls, and advice for tackling bullying, grooming, and other online risks.

View Guides

❋Centre for Humane Technology

Designing for Wellbeing & Safety

Research and tools to reduce harms from attention-driven platforms and support healthier tech ecosystems.

Explore

✦Centre for Digital Rights

Advocacy & Policy

Legal and policy initiatives to protect people—especially children—from exploitative digital practices.

Visit Site

✶Media Ecosystem Observatory

MEO (Canada)

Independent research tracking misinformation and harmful narratives—useful for educators and policy makers.

Learn More

✸Digital Futures for Children

Rights-Respecting Digital World

A research hub that amplifies children’s voices and builds the evidence base for safer, rights-based digital design.

Visit Site

✺Click if you Agree

MediaSmarts

An educational game, designed for young people between the ages of 12 and 14, and a helpful tool for all ages. Develop the skills and confidence to read privacy policies and terms of use instead of blindly clicking on the “I agree”.

Play Now

✷How Cyber-Savvy Are You?

MediaSmarts

Test your cyber-security awareness with Media Smarts’ quiz and explore tip sheets.

Go to Quiz

✧Canadian Shield: Free Public DNS Resolver

Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA)

This free, easy-to-use security tool is available as a mobile app or browser extension, giving you protection across all your devices. Built by and for Canadians.

Learn More

✹Blacklight: A Real-Time Website Privacy Investigator

The Markup

Who is peeking over your shoulder while you work, watch videos, learn, explore, and shop on the internet? Enter the address of any website, and Blacklight will scan it and reveal the specific user-tracking technologies on the site—and who’s getting your data.

Explore Now

✵The Markup: Newsroom

The Markup

The Markup is a non-profit newsroom that challenges technology to serve the public good. They use a scientific approach that includes building datasets from scratch and showing their work. Explore investigations, tools, and blueprints.

Visit Newsroom

★Get Smart About Money

Ontario Securities Commission

Improve your financial knowledge with free, unbiased resources. Learn about investing, spotting AI scams, access cash flow and savings calculators, and more.

Learn More

✴Understanding and Advancing Youth Civic Engagement in Canada (Summary)

Max Bell Foundation (2025)

National synthesis of literature, survey data, and interviews on youth participation in Canada (voting, digital engagement, volunteering, protest, and more).

Read Summary

✳Digital Media Literacy as a Precondition for Engaged Digital Citizenship

Brisson-Boivin & Johnson (CIGI, 2024)

Policy brief arguing that critical understanding, verification, and engagement are foundations for meaningful digital citizenship, with Canadian case evidence.

Read Brief (PDF)

❋Young Canadians in a Wireless World IV: Digital Media Literacy & Digital Citizenship

MediaSmarts

Findings on how youth assess credibility online and participate ethically in digital communities—part of the long-running YCWW research program.

Read Report (PDF)

✦Framing the Challenges of Digital Inclusion for Young Canadians

eQuality Project (Shade et al., 2019)

Qualitative study (focus groups ~13–17) on privacy, equity, and how networked spaces enable or constrain youth’s participatory digital citizenship.

Read Report (PDF)

✶NextGen Democracy: The 2024 Pulse Survey

Abacus Data & Apathy Is Boring (2024)

Canadian youth perspectives on democracy, government, and participation—tracking changes from 2023 and providing actionable insights.

Read Survey (PDF)

✸Civix - Youth Programs

Civix

CIVIX is a Canadian charity started by young people. Their programming focuses on the themes of elections, government budgets, elected representatives, digital media literacy and civic discourse.

Visit Now

✺Next Gen Men - Resource Library

NextGen Men

Explore a thorough collection of books, reports and studies about boys, men and gender-based violence, gathered from ongoing research on masculinities. Next Gen Men is a Canadian nonprofit whose work is dedicated to change how the world sees, acts and thinks about masculinity.

Explore

✷Good Bot: Tech Policy

Good Bot

A Canadian non-profit made up of professionals in tech, law, design, social sciences, and policy who share a commitment to ensuring that digital and AI systems are fair, trustworthy, transparent and accountable. Read their policy papers, and explore resources.

Read Now

✧Hearing Unheard Moments (HUM)

Students Commission of Canada

Watch engaging media literacy videos featuring magician Lachlan performing card tricks while discussing media literacy, plus PSAs on astroturfing, bots, and deepfakes. Through comedy, arts, and Forum Theatre, HUM creates safer spaces for real dialogue on controversial, polarizing topics and helps youth address exclusion that can lead to radicalization.

Watch Now

✹4Rs Youth Movement (Canada)

Indigenous-youth-led

Free, youth-centered resources for leadership, reconciliation, wellbeing, and community connection—toolkits, guides, zines, reports, and videos co-created with youth.

Get Involved

✵PlaceSpeak

Location-based Civic Consultation

Find and join public consultations in your area—surveys, discussions, and feedback on local projects—tied to where you live.

How It Works

★Digital Moment

Montreal-based charity

Mobilizing communities with digital literacy education aligned to the UN SDGs. Programs for educators and youth across Canada.

Visit Site

✴Tech This Out! (Podcast)

5Rights Foundation (Youth-led)

Youth hosts speak with experts and decision-makers about building a safer, rights-respecting digital world—and how young people can drive change.

Listen

✳Apathy is Boring

Canada-wide youth civic engagement

Helping young people find their lane in democracy—education, projects, and pathways beyond voting to shape the conditions you live in.

Get Involved

❋Foresight on AI: Policy Considerations

Policy Horizons — Government of Canada (2025)

Readable foresight brief on AI impacts for society, education, and policy — useful context for learners, educators, and program leads.

Read Brief

✦Control Your Tech Use

Centre for Humane Technology

Step-by-step tools to take back control from distracting apps and optimize your attention.

Open Toolkit

✶Youth Toolkit: How Social Media Works

Centre for Humane Technology

Understand algorithms, attention, and data — then try practical steps to make platforms work for you.

Open Youth Toolkit

✸Navigating the Digital World: Evidence-Based Digital Literacy

Buchan, Bhawra & Katapally (2024) — Smart Learning Environments

Builds a foundation for embedding digital literacy/citizenship in curricula; maps core themes and gaps (Canada-focused).

Read Article

✺Smartphone Policies in Schools: What Does the Evidence Say?

Digital Futures for Children (2024)

International evidence on restricting phones in secondary schools — mixed results. Includes executive summary & full report.

Read the Review

✷State of the Nation: K-12 e-Learning in Canada (2024)

Canadian eLearning Network

Trends, governance, and innovations across online/blended learning in Canada’s K-12 systems.

English (PDF)

✧MediaSmarts: Short Educational Videos

Digital citizenship skills

Bite-size explainers to strengthen everyday digital literacy and critical thinking.

Watch

✹Foundations of Humane Technology (Course)

Centre for Humane Technology

Free, self-paced course for professionals who shape tech — ethics, design, and human wellbeing.

Start Course

✵Thea Study

Study support tool

Upload readings to generate practice quizzes & flashcards. Use thoughtfully to complement (not replace) learning.

Try Thea

★Watch: Youth-Created Videos

4Rs Youth Movement

Short films by youth on reconciliation, belonging, culture, and leadership.

Watch Now

✴BioDigital Human

Interactive human body

Explore anatomy in 3D. Free plan for one person (signup required).

Explore

✳TypingClub

Free typing lessons

Improve speed and accuracy with quick games — no signup required.

Start Typing

❋Hacksplaining

Security training

Free lessons to understand common web security risks — and protect yourself and your projects.

Learn Security

✦Digital Literacy/Citizenship Curriculum Supports (2024)

Grey Bruce Public Health

Curriculum-linked tasks that model effective pedagogy + tech integration for digital citizenship.

Download (PDF)

✶ICTC: Digital Literacy & Skills Roadmap

Information and Communications Technology Council

National guide to building digital literacy and skills across education, industry, and government.

English

✸The Future is Now: The Environment & Children’s Wellbeing in Canada

UNICEF Canada (2022)

Canadian companion to Report Card 17 on how environmental factors shape children’s wellbeing.

Read Report (PDF)

✺Climate Emotions & Anxiety among Young People in Canada

Galway & Field (2023) — J. Climate Change & Health

National survey on climate emotions and a call to action.

Read Study

✷The Hidden Footprint of AI: Climate, Water, & Justice Costs

Hastings Initiative (2025)

How AI systems extract energy, water, minerals, and labour—often from vulnerable communities.

Read Brief (PDF)

✧Screen Tech Use & Connection to Nature (Mixed Methods, Canada)

Michaelson et al. (2020) — CJPH

Explores how screen use relates to adolescents’ connection with nature.

Read Study

✹Digital Technologies & Environmental Education

Lowan-Trudeau (2023) — JEE

Weighs the pedagogical benefits and social, health, and environmental impacts of digital tech in EE.

Read Article

✵Children & Nature Network: Research Library

Global evidence hub

Search the world’s largest collection of peer-reviewed literature on nature’s benefits for children.

Explore Library

★UNESCO: From Clicks to Progress — Youth Digital Pathways

UNESCO (2021)

Stories and insights on how youth use digital pathways for sustainable development.

Read Article

✴UNCTAD: Digitalization & Environmental Sustainability

Digital Economy Report 2024 — Chapter I

Life-cycle impacts of digital products & systems at the nexus of digitalization and sustainability.

Read Chapter (PDF)

✳Net Zero You(th) Toolkit

Apathy Is Boring (2024)

Learn, act, and lead on climate & net zero with a youth-friendly toolkit.

Download (PDF)

❋Youth Harbour

Youth Harbour

Youth-for-youth climate support system, including grants

Visit Now

✦Future Ground Network

David Suzuki Foundation

A hub for Canadian community groups taking local action to secure healthier, more viable futures

Visit Now

✶Park People

Park People

Park People connects people and communities with the tools they need to create great parks for everyone.

Visit

✸Rooted and Rising

Rooted and Rising Lab

An intergenerational network creating climate education programs for people re-membering how to care with the natural world. Find resources and programs.

Visit the Lab

✺‘Underconsumption Core’ Challenges Consumer Culture

The Conversation (2024)

How a new trend is pushing back on consumerism—ideas you can use in daily life.

Read Article

✷Virtual Visits with Parks Canada

Trails & Parks

Explore parks digitally—then plan your next in-person nature day.

Start Exploring

✧Sierra Club Canada — Join Now

National grassroots

Get involved in environmental action and community projects across Canada.

Get Involved

✹WILD Outside (Ages 15–18)

Canadian Wildlife Federation

Conservation-based community service & leadership program for teens.

Learn More

✵Outdoor Play Canada

National network

Connect with leaders and groups championing outdoor play across Canada.

Visit Site

★Children & Nature Network — Get Involved

Opportunities & ideas

Find ways to connect with nature advocacy and youth programs.

Get Involved

✴Ecosia

Search that plants trees

Use the free search engine/app that funds tree planting and climate action.

Try Ecosia

✳Fish Doorbell (Netherlands)

Help migrating fish in March

Watch the live canal cam and press the “doorbell” to let fish through the gate.

Ring the Bell

❋Youth Climate Report

UNFCCC partner project

Global database of 1,000+ short films by youth, including 300+ from Canadian youth.

Explore Films

✦Geocaching (App)

Join the world’s largest treasure hunt

Head outdoors and discover hidden caches with GPS on your phone.

Get the App

✶The ChariTree Foundation: Environmental Education & Tree Planting

Canada

Support for Canadian environmental education and tree-planting projects.

Projects

✸Mobile Apps to Support Indigenous Youth Wellbeing

Noronha et al. (2021) — IJCAR

How mobile apps are used to support Indigenous youth wellbeing across Canada.

Read Study

✺Social Media Use & Positive Mental Health

Clayborne et al. (2025) — Journal of Psychiatric Research

HBSC Canada analysis exploring links between social media use and positive mental health in adolescents.

Read Article

✷Recreational Screen Time & Mental Health (Canada)

Toigo et al. (2025) — HPCDP

Canadian analysis of recreational screen time and its relationship to children’s and youths’ mental health.

Read Article

✧Children’s Wellbeing in a Digital World — Index 2024

Internet Matters (2024)

Research on children’s digital wellbeing across mental, physical, and social domains.

Read Report

✹Children & Screens: Research Portal

Search by age & topics

Podcasts, scholarly articles, and tip sheets on mental, physical, and sleep health.

Explore Research

✵Screens & Sleep — Research at a Glance

Children & Screens (2024)

Printable visual digest summarizing current evidence on screens and sleep health.

Download (PDF)

★What’s Up With Everyone?

University of Nottingham & partners

Animated stories + site co-produced with youth to build mental health literacy.

Visit

✴Be There Certificate

Jack.org

Free micro-course to learn how to support someone who’s struggling with their mental health.

Start Learning

✳Mental Health 101 — Youth & Technology

CAMH (mini-course)

Short, accessible modules on how tech intersects with youth mental health.

Open Course

❋TrevorSpace (LGBTQ+ 13–24)

The Trevor Project (US-based)

Moderated online community & groups for LGBTQ+ youth worldwide.

Join Community

✦Problem Gambling & Technology Use

CAMH Resources

Help, treatment options, and information for youth and families.

Explore

✶Future Black Female — Free Counselling

Canada (Ages 16–22)

Free virtual & in-person counselling for Black girls in Canada.

Get Support

✸BIPOC Wellness Resources

UBC KUS — curated directory

Free, culturally inclusive mental health & wellbeing supports for BIPOC youth in Canada.

Browse

✺Conflict Transformation (Zine)

Rooted & Rising

Youth-friendly practices for turning conflict into connection and care.

Read Zine

✷YMCA @ Home — Online Fitness

Free · English & French

On-demand workouts to support physical health from home.

Start Moving

✧UCalgary — Free Fitness Plans

Faculty of Kinesiology

Downloadable programs to build a healthy routine.

See Plans

✹JoyPop

Evidence-based, trauma-informed

Quick “pops of joy” to support resilience and mental health throughout the day.

Learn More

✵Be Safe

Safety planning & crisis support

Create a safety plan, find local resources, and learn what to do in a crisis.

Get the App

★EdTick: Wellbeing Tools for Teachers & Students

Roundups & explainers

How technology can support wellbeing for teachers and students.

Read

✴Too Good To Go

App

Get surprise “rescued” food at a discount from local restaurants and grocers in major Canadian cities.

Get the App

✳Computers for Schools Plus

Innovation, Science & Economic Development Canada (ISED)

Refurbished computers/devices for schools, libraries, non-profits, Indigenous communities, and eligible low-income Canadians.

Explore Program

❋Connecting Families (Canada)

Government of Canada

Low-cost high-speed home internet ($10/$20 plans) with simple online eligibility and enrolment.

Learn More

✦Feeding My Family & Social Media

Larissa Koplyay (2020)

Capstone exploring how social media supports food security/sovereignty advocacy in Northern Canada.

Read Thesis

✶TELUS Mobility for Good

Program for Youth Aging out of Care

Free phone + low-cost plan for youth aging out of the care system. (Program availability may vary.)

See Program

✸Second Harvest — Food Rescue

Canada

Food businesses post donations in real time; community orgs claim and pick up via the app.

Explore

✺Food Security Now

Canada

Enter your address to explore local data on poverty and food insecurity.

Check Your Area

✷Provincial Computer Reuse Programs

BC Technology for Learning Society / Alberta Computers for Schools

Refurbished tech and youth internship opportunities in British Columbia and Alberta.

Check It Out

✧Dig for Your Rights! Food Sovereignty Toolkit

UFV Food & Agriculture Institute

Hands-on activities and youth-friendly tools for learning and action on food sovereignty.

Download Toolkit

✹Free Bespoke Sewing Patterns

FreeSewing

Open-source, size-inclusive sewing patterns and a friendly community to get you started.

Browse Patterns

✵Barriers to Digital Equity (Canada)

ACORN Canada (2019)

Community-led research on affordability gaps and what’s needed for fair digital access.

Read Report

★Workout.cool — Build Free Routines

Open-source project

Create simple workout plans from a big exercise library and track progress—no subscription required.

Start Building

✴Free & Open Nutrition Resources

University of Toronto Libraries

Library-curated catalogue of high-quality, open-access nutrition guides and learning materials.

Open Guide

✳YouthREX Evidence Brief: The Digital Divide

YouthREX (2021)

Ontario snapshot of youth access to connectivity, devices, and skills—with equity-focused recommendations.

Read Brief

❋Digital Equity in Access to Justice

Legal Aid BC (2021)

Literature review on justice access where digital evidence and connectivity intersect.

Read Summary

✦Indigenous Peoples’ Food Systems

IFAD Digital Toolbox

Global toolkit on Indigenous food systems, sovereignty, and resilience.

Open Toolkit

✶ShelterSafe.ca

Canada

Map of shelters across Canada for women, children, and youth. If you’re in danger, call 911.

Find a Shelter

✸Free Wi-Fi Map (WiFiSPC)

WiFi Space

Find nearby public Wi-Fi hotspots and community-shared passwords. (Avoid sensitive logins on open networks.)

Open Map

✺Government of Canada – Youth Portal

Government of Canada

Central hub for Youth: find education, health, rights, jobs, leadership, and volunteer opportunities.

Visit Portal

✷211 Canada

Call / Text / Chat 24–7

Find help for housing, food, transit, health, and financial support in your area.

Get Help

✧TELUS Internet for Good

TELUS Social Impact

Low-cost high-speed Internet for low-income families, youth aging out of care, seniors, and people with disabilities. (Note: brand-funded)

Check Eligibility

✹iFixit — Repair Guides

Community Repair Wiki

Fix your phone, laptop, or game console with step-by-step guides and toolkits.

Start Repairing

✵Net Good

CIRA — Canadian Internet Registration Authority

Grants, data, and research advancing connectivity and digital equity across Canada.

Explore Net Good

★Food Security & Sovereignty — Resource List

Four Stories About Food

Curated directory of activities, teachers’ guides, readings, tools, and community-led resources.

Browse List

✴Canadian Index of Child & Youth Well-Being

UNICEF Canada (2019)

Indicators touching income inequality, food and housing security, and inclusion.

See Indicators

✳Infrastructure Canada: Research & Data

Government of Canada

Housing and community infrastructure research/data—context for material security.

Open Hub

❋School of Cities — Affiliated Initiatives

University of Toronto

Urban research on housing, mobility, access, and the social determinants of wellbeing.

See Initiatives

✦Find a Food Bank

Food Banks Canada

Search by postal code to locate nearby food banks and community supports.

Search

✶Community Child & Youth Well-Being Survey

UNICEF Canada (2022)

Community-level data on material security (housing, income, food, digital access) and more.

Download PDF

✸EarthLive.TV — Live Wildlife & Nature Cams

EarthLive.TV

Watch live wildlife, nature, zoo, and aquarium cams from around the world, plus original stories about the planet and its animals.

Watch Live

✺67 — Strict Screen Time Blocker

Created by a Canadian youth

Free iPhone app that blocks your distracting apps once you hit your daily screen time limit, then makes you wait 67 minutes for a short break. (Apple App Store only; not available on Android.)

Get App

✷Gen(Z)AI: Youth Voices, AI Futures

McGill Centre for Media, Technology & Democracy (2026)

Canada’s Youth Assembly on AI: young people from across the country drafted AI governance recommendations. Includes the AI Unpacked guide and forum reports on privacy, chatbots, and more.

Explore Project

✧UNICEF - Resources on the Convention on the Rights of the Child

UNICEF

The Convention on the Rights of the Child is the most widely ratified human rights treaty in history. Discover the key Convention documents and related publications and resources.

Visit Resource

✹U Report on Climate Change

UNICEF Canada — U-Report

Opinion Poll - Results

Visit Resource

✵5Rights Foundation

5Rights Foundation

An international NGO working with and for children for a rights-respecting digital world. Focused on driving change to revolutionise the online environment for children and society as a whole. Abundant in resources.

Visit Resource

★Africa Digital Rights Hub

Africa Digital Rights Hub

a not-for-profit "think and action tank" that promotes Pan-African research and capacity building on digital rights. Interested in the impact of digital technology on people living in the continent, the Hub brings together academic researchers, stakeholders, policy makers, regional and international bodies to address digital rights issues in Africa.

Visit Resource

✴AI Now Institute

AI Now Institute

An independent research institute equipping the field with expert analysis to challenge and reimagine the current trajectory of AI.

Visit Resource

✳Canadian Digital Media Research Network

Canadian Digital Media Research Network

A pioneering initiative committed to fortifying and fostering resilience within Canada's unique information ecosystem. Our mission is to understand the dynamics of information production, dissemination, and consumption across digital media with the goal of empowering Canadians to navigate the complexities of the modern digital age.

Visit Resource

❋Centre for Media Technology & Democracy

McGill University

Examines how media and emerging technologies shape democracy.

Visit Resource

✦Building Better Tech Habits (Guide)

MediaSmarts

Classroom strategies for healthy digital routines.

Visit Resource

✶Yo Printables: Colouring Sheets

Yo Printables

Free Colouring Book Pages

Visit Resource

✸Into the Cloud

NetSmartz Kids

Series for children 11 yrs old and under, learning about privacy online

Visit Resource

✺Break the Fake: Fact-Checking

MediaSmarts

Hands-on tools and videos—like "Break the Fake" and the Teen Fact-Checking Network—to verify claims and stop the spread.

Visit Resource

✷Digital Moment: Take the Challenge

Digital Moment

Their annual Take the Challenge program engages youth in activities to respond to the UN SDGs

Visit Resource

✧Moonshot Reports

Moonshot

Read reports including: Adapting Violence Prevention to the Digital World - A Framework for Action; Building Resilience to Misinformation in Europe; Understanding and Preventing Incel Violence in Canada and more. Moonshot is a social impact business that builds technology to identify and disrupt organized crime, child sexual exploitation, and trafficking, among other forms of abuse and violence.

Visit Resource

✺Know a Great Resource?

Help us grow the Hub by suggesting a resource for youth and the people who support them.

Suggest a Resource