Digital Religion(s) II: Self-optimization

Project Description 

This four-year research project, situated within the interdisciplinary University Research Priority Program (URPP) “Digital Religion(s)”, investigates how adolescents and young adults engage with the phenomenon of self-optimization in their everyday (digital) lives. The project approaches self-optimization from both a theoretical and an empirical perspective, conceptualizing self-optimization mindsets as a continuum that ranges from mild, everyday improvement practices to more intense, religion-like forms of self-enchantment. 

We focus on adolescents and young adults as they are in a formative life phase marked by uncertainty, transitions, and the emergence of fundamental questions about identity, purpose, and what constitutes a “good life.” In this developmental context, individuals encounter a wide range of social and media-based beliefs, promises, and prescriptions regarding how to live well and how one should improve oneself. Against this backdrop, the project aims to provide new insights into how striving for a “good life” and the associated normative expectations shape young people’s emotional and motivational experiences and well-being, and whether shared reflection can serve as a protective factor that reduces adverse reactions to self-optimization pressures during this formative period. 

Project Phases & Study Designs 

Conceptual / Theoretical Phase 
In this phase, we develop a theoretically grounded understanding of self-optimization and derive robust measurement instruments for the subsequent survey and data donation studies. 

Empirical Phase 
In the empirical phase, we investigate the strength and prevalence of self-optimization mindsets among young adults in Switzerland using a survey design, including their associated emotional and motivational reactions. Beyond capturing the overall mindset, we aim to analyse more fine-grained underlying processes and mechanisms. 

These survey data will be linked with participants’ actual media content exposure via data donations, enabling automated content analysis of their real digital environments. By combining subjective self-reports with objective digital traces, the project not only deepens scientific understanding of self-optimization dynamics but also provides participating students with meaningful insights into their own media use, encouraging informed reflection.