Digital-Media Use and Mental Health in Children and Adolescents

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Abstract
Digital media have become a central part of children’s and adolescents’ daily lives, with increasing usage time and decreasing age of first exposure in recent years. While digital technologies offer opportunities for social participation, access to information, education, and therapeutic support, they are also associated with several risks to mental health. These include problematic use patterns, cyberbullying, exposure to harmful content and hazardous contacts as well as commercial exploitation through manipulative design practices (“dark patterns”). This evidence review summarizes current research on the opportunities and risks of digital media use from a developmental perspective across three age groups (0 – 5, 6 – 13, and 14 – 18 years). Evidence suggests associations between intensive media use and risks for sleep, attention, language development, psychosocial well-being, and academic performance. In adolescence, problematic internet use is also associated with behavioral addictions and mental health problems. Overall, the findings highlight the need for a balanced approach to digital media use, including age-appropriate protection, media literacy, and regulatory measures to safeguard the mental health of young people. This overview forms the basis for the position statement of the German Scientific Society and Associations for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics, and Psychotherapy on digital media use and mental health of children and adolescents.

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