Digital media use and mental health

Digital media use and mental health

Digital media and screen time have changed how children think, interact and develop in positive and negative ways, but scientists are unsure about the existence of hypothesized causal links between digital media use and mental health outcomes. Those links appear to depend on the individual and the platforms they use. Several large technology firms have made commitments or announced strategies to try to reduce the risks of digital media use.

Digital technologies have also provided opportunities for delivery of mental health care online; benefits have been found with computerised cognitive behavioural therapy for depression and anxiety.
Research of digital health interventions in young people is preliminary, with a meta-review unable to draw firm conclusions because of problems in research methodology. Potential benefits according to one review include "the flexibility, interactivity, and spontaneous nature of mobile communications in encouraging persistent and continual access to care outside clinical settings.

Though associations have been observed between digital media use and mental health symptoms or diagnoses, causality has not been established; nuances and caveats published by researchers are often misunderstood by the general public, or misrepresented by the media.
 Females are more likely to overuse social media and males video games. Following from this, problematic digital media use may not be singular constructs, maybe delineated based on the digital platform used.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_media_use_and_mental_health