Sign up for Oxplore's latest livestreamed event: Are real-life friends better than online ones?

During the COVID-19 pandemic we’ve all got used to checking in with the people we love remotely - but what might our reliance on technology be doing to our friendships? Can we feel just as close to our besties through a screen, or is too much time online driving us further apart?

From 2 - 2:45pm on Monday 8 March we're giving you the opportunity to make some new (online) friends and explore this topic further with our expert panel from the University of Oxford. Our guest speakers include a Maths YouTuber, a behavioural scientist and an experimental psychologist, so we're sure the discussion will be lively!

Your thoughts and opinions are really important to us, so we've structured the event around quick interactive polls and scheduled an extended Q&A, to try to answer as many of your questions as we can. The most thought provoking questions will win prizes so it's well worth taking part!

We've designed this event specifically for young people aged 11-18. Tickets are free and the only technical requirements are internet access and a free Zoom account.

The session will also be recorded so if you can't make it on the day, you can still catch-up over on our YouTube channel.

RSVP for a free ticket to receive your viewing link.

Explore some of the themes we'll be discussing and stimulate your intellectual curiosity on our dedicated webpage over on oxplore.org.

Meet the panel

Presented by Dr Thomas Crawford

Tom is a maths tutor at St Edmund Hall with a mission to share his love of maths with the world. His award-winning website tomrocksmaths.com features videos, podcasts, articles and puzzles designed to make maths more entertaining, exciting and enthralling for all. Tom also works with Numberphile - one of the largest education channels on YouTube with over 3.14 million subscribers.

Mary Kempnich

Mary is a researcher based in the Department of Experimental Psychology at the University of Oxford. She has studied all over the world and is interested in experiencing different societies and cultures. This interest is reflected in her research, which examines how friendship networks adapt to mobile societies and the social challenges individuals face when adjusting to life in a new place.

Dr Niklas Johannes

Niklas is a behavioural scientist and postdoctoral researcher at the Oxford Internet Institute. His research looks at the effect that digital technology has on the performance and mental wellbeing of teenagers. Niklas recently co-authored a study which revealed that video gameplay and well-being are related positively.