Welcome to the Technology, Teens, and Families Lab!
Our lab was established in 2022, directed by Dr. Xiaoran Sun, Assistant Professor in the Department of Family Social Science at the University of Minnesota.
We use innovative data and methods to study the interplay among technology, adolescent development, and family systems.
Recent Projects
UMN Teen Social Media Study
This is a NIMH-funded project that aims to identify adolescents' social media management strategies.
Family Screenome Study
We study how adolescents and their parents use smartphones, and how their smartphone use impacts their family relationships and well-being.
Machine Learning for Family Research
How we use machine learning to advance discoveries in developmental and family research.
Celia T. Lee presenting her research in a paper session at the 2025 NCFR conference.
Photo Courtesy of Celia T. Lee
Award recipient Celia T. Lee at the 2025 NCFR conference, with her advisor Dr. Xiaoran Sun on her left and advisor Dr. Jodi Dworkin on her right.
Photo Courtesy of Celia T. Lee
Ting Xu presenting her research in a paper session at the 2025 NCFR conference.
Photo Courtesy of Ting Xu
Lab members Ting Xu and Eunyoung Park, with the session discussant Dr. Jodi Dworkin and another presenter Xiaoqi Ma, at the 2025 NCFR conference.
Photo Courtesy of Ting Xu
Lab members Sijin Chen (left) and Yunqi Wang (right) seated as presenters during a paper session at the 2025 NCFR conference.
Photo Courtesy of Sijin Chen
Sijin Chen presenting her research in a paper session at the 2025 NCFR conference.
Photo Courtesy of Sijin Chen
Yike Tang standing at her poster as a presenter during the 2025 NCFR conference poster session.
Photo Courtesy of Yike Tang
News
April 2026
- Eunyoung Park and Ting Xu have been recognized as NCFR Honors students.
- Yike Tang has been awarded the Institute for Social Research and Data Innovation summer fellowship.
March 2026
- Xiaoran Sun has been named a McKnight Land-Grant Professorship.
- Celia Lee has been awarded Interdisciplinary Doctoral Fellowship for the 2026-2027 academic year.
December 2025
- Xiaoran Sun has been awarded an MPC Spark Grant.
October 2025
- Celia Lee's NCFR Proposal received the Best Student Research Abstract in Families and Technology Award for NCFR 2025.
September 2025
- Sijin Chen's NCFR Proposal has been named the 2025 Best Abstract by a Student/New Professional by the NCFR's Research & Theory Section.
April 2025
- Eunyoung Park has been selected from a pool of 195 doctoral applicants across the University of Minnesota, to receive one of the very prestigious 2025-2026 Doctoral Dissertation Fellowships.
Join the Team
Dr. Sun is actively looking for students who have strong interests and backgrounds in working at the intersections of family dynamics (family systems processes), adolescent and young adult development (achievements & well-being), methodologies, and data sciences.