Annual Research Review: Adolescent mental health in the digital age: facts, fears, and future directions
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Narrative review synthesizing meta-analyses, cohort studies, and EMA studies
OpenAlex W2998834126 · doi:10.1111/jcpp.13190
What was done
The authors synthesized literature examining the relationship between digital technology use and adolescent mental health (focusing on depression and anxiety) across three evidence streams: narrative reviews and meta-analyses published from 2014 to 2019, large-scale preregistered cohort studies, and intensive longitudinal or ecological momentary assessment (EMA) studies.
What was found
The abstract reports no numerical values. Prior research was predominantly correlational, often adult-focused, and produced mixed small positive, negative, and null associations. The most rigorous, large-scale preregistered studies observed only small associations between daily digital technology usage and adolescent well-being that do not establish causality and are unlikely to be clinically or practically significant.
Why it matters
It provides a critical check on public alarm regarding screen time, showing that the most rigorous preregistered evidence identifies negligible and non-causal links between digital media use and adolescent mental health issues.
Limits
The abstract reports no quantitative metrics or counts of reviewed studies. Much of the underlying evidence base is correlational, preventing causal inference, and historical literature has frequently relied on adult rather than adolescent samples.
Cited by
- context Roughly 15 to 20% of young people describe their phone and internet usage as almost constant.