Kostadin Kushlev, Ph.D.

PI of Digital Health and Happiness Lab, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.

As an Assistant Professor and Researcher at Georgetown University (Washington, DC), Dr. Kushlev investigates how constant internet connectivity affects health and well-being. He is the Principal Investigator of the Digital Health and Happiness Lab, aka the Happy Tech Lab.

Dr. Kushlev aims to identify the hidden costs of new technologies—from email and smartphones to social media and ChatGPT. His work shows that considering the opportunity costs of digital media use is key to understanding why our amazingly useful digital devices have failed to make us happier. In other words, it is essential to understand not only what people are doing on their digital devices but also when, where, and with whom they are using them.

Dr. Kushlev received his Ph.D. from the University of British Columbia in 2015 and was a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of Virginia from 2015–2018. He has received many grants, distinctions, and awards, all of which can be found on his CV.

His theoretical work has been published in Psychological Bulletin, Current Directions in Psychological Science, and Current Opinion in Psychology. His empirical work has been published in Psychological Science, Emotion, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, and Social Psychology and Personality Science. Find all papers here.

Dr. Kushlev has written for The New York Times, The Conversation, and Psychology Today, and his work has been covered by other prestigious publications such as The Economist, BBC, NPR, Forbes, Fast Company, Time Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, National Geographic, and The Washington Post. Click here for a full list of media publications and mentions.

Dr. Kushlev is also a scientific advisor for ExpiWell (https://expiwell.com)—a mobile platform for administering the Experience Sampling Method (ESM).

Dr. Kushlev is also a participating researcher for the Research-to-Policy Collaboration, a non-partisan model designed to increase the use of evidence-based policy by facilitating partnerships between researchers and policymakers.

GRANTS

Causal Effects of Exposure to Social Media on Adolescent Mental Health. R01, National Institute of Mental Health. Role: PI. Total Awarded: $1,529,894. 2024 – 2028

Greater Good in Action 2.0: Making the science of character virtue more practical, engaging, and impactful. John Templeton Foundation. PI: Dacher Keltner, Role: Scientific Collaborator, Total Awarded: $1,778,612 (Awarded to Dr. Kushlev: $66,699). 2020 – 2023