A.-K. Lindqvist et al. (Lee, Cheng, & St. Leger, 2005). School-based interventions that combine different methods seem to be promising in terms of long-term behavioral change in adolescents (Van Sluijs, McMinn, & Griffin, 2008). Lubans, Morgan, Callister, and Collins (2009) performed a school-based interven- tion integrating pedometers, parental information and e-mail support was successful in promoting physical activity and healthy eating behavior habits in adolescents. Adolescents use a considerable amount of ICT, for example computers and mobile phones, in their everyday life (Tercyak, Abraham, Graham, Wilson, & Walker, 2009). Health promotion in conjunction with the support of ICT is a promising approach to use for adolescents whose behavior is unhealthy (Tercyak et al., 2009). However, previous studies of young people’s use of internet-mediated interven- tions have found low exposure rates (Crutzen et al., 2008) and use in real life can be even lower (Evers, Cummins, Prochaska, & Prochaska, 2005). Giving young people the opportunity to increase their influence over their own health can contribute to an easier transition to adult responsibility (Moreno, Ralston, & Grossman, 2009). Furthermore, getting young people involved in the development of health promotion research may lead to increased well-being and empowerment, resulting in a different perspec- tive than an adult view (Kostenius, 2008). The aim was to describe and develop an under- standing of adolescents’ awareness and experiences concerning health promotion. The study was part of a school and research project in one municipality in the northern part of Sweden. The aim of the project was to develop the students’ learning environment, and to strengthen their ICT skills. The project is called ‘‘One to one’’, as the name implies, it involves the distribution of a laptop to every secondary-school student for use in school and at home. Aim Context Method Design groups, as interaction between group members can reveal dimensions that could not be detected in individual interviews (Kitzinger, 1995). Since the members in the focus groups share experiences with each other, they can highlight individual viewpoints, as well as collective ones. The collective nature of the focus groups can empower the participants and validate their experiences and to be considered an expert can also be empowering (Kitzinger, 1995). We agree with Dahlin-Ivanoff and Hultberg (2006) that participants are influenced by people around them and focus groups are based on commonality and shared experiences. The epistemological posi- tion in focus group methodology shares some basic assumptions with social constructivism. Social con- structivism means that human beings construct their knowledge in interaction with others and sharing experiences will lead to modification and creation of new knowledge (Dahlin-Ivanoff & Hultberg, 2006). Participants All of the staff at the municipality’s secondary school was informed by the authors about the study, and two seventh grade teachers were invited to participate as coordinators. The two volunteer teachers sum- moned the parents of the children in their classes to a meeting where the authors gave them verbal and written information of the study. The parents who agreed to let their children participate gave their informed consent. In addition, the authors gave verbal and written information to the students, and those who agreed to participate also signed an in- formed consent. The written information explained the aim of the research and stated that participation was voluntary and that the students could terminate their participation without needing to provide any reasons for doing so. The two classes consisted of 32 students, while 29 of them, 14 boys and 15 girls, were interested in participating in the focus groups. Krueger and Casey (2009) recommend separate groups for boys and girls. Focus groups were planned with 4 7 participants in each group and the students were divided by their teachers according to gender and in a manner likely to facilitate an open and lively discussion. A total of 28 students, divided into six groups, participated in the focus group discussions as one boy was on vacation. Data collection A few days before the focus group discussions took place, the students were asked by their teacher to write an open letter, the purpose was to facilitate communication in the upcoming focus groups. They were asked to finish the sentences: ‘‘Now I’m going Since the aim of the study was to describe and develop an understanding of adolescents’ awareness and experiences, a qualitative approach to data collection and analysis was chosen (Holloway & Wheeler, 2010). Data was collected using focus 2 (page number not for citation purpose) Citation: Int J Qualitative Stud Health Well-being 2012; 7: 17726 - http://dx.doi.org/10.3402/qhw.v7i0.17726