4 minSociety
Lancet Review Links Problematic Digital Media Use to Self-Harm and Depression in Young People
A three-paper series in The Lancet analyzing data from 9 million people under 25 finds consistent associations between problematic digital media use and harms including self-injury, suicidal ideation, and impaired development, while calling for government action and data sharing from tech companies.
Problematic digital media use is consistently associated with a range of physical and mental health harms in young people, according to a three-paper series on «digital determinants of health» published in The Lancet. The series and an accompanying meta-review analyzed existing research covering data from 9 million people younger than 25 and were authored by experts from 10 countries.
The review distinguishes between problematic use — addiction-like patterns of engagement — and simple screen time. It found that overall screen time was linked to obesity, nearsightedness, lower back pain, and cardiometabolic risk across age groups. For children, higher screen time was associated with poorer socio-emotional and cognitive development, increased anxiety and depression, and worse sleep quality. For adolescents, specific patterns of digital engagement were tied to reduced quality of life, sleep problems, lower physical activity, non-suicidal self-injury, suicidal ideation, and substance use.
More than three-quarters of the reported exposure-outcome associations were adverse, the meta-review found, though it also noted evidence of beneficial use, such as children watching educational content with caregivers and adolescents playing active video games. «These age-related differences emphasize that digital media use is not a uniform phenomenon,» the review said.
The authors stress that the available evidence does not establish cause and effect. Self-reported data has limitations, said Sunny Xun Liu, director of research at the Stanford Social Media Lab, who was not involved in the Lancet series. Liu coauthored a recent study in JAMA Pediatrics that examined how often adolescents reported negative online experiences and found responses varied substantially by platform. «If you ask [adolescents], ‘Okay, what type of harmful content have you seen in the past four weeks?’ it’s really hard for anybody to answer that question,» Liu said.
Both Liu and the series authors said better data exists but is often inaccessible. «The most valuable data on how these platforms actually affect users are hidden within technology companies, limiting independent scrutiny and slowing scientific progress,» said series author Louise Holly, a policy and research coordinator at the Digital Transformations for Health Lab in the U.K. One key recommendation is that governments require tech companies to share that data with vetted public-interest researchers.
Even without that data, the authors argue the scale of evidence warrants action now. They call for a public health approach with more research and regulation, noting that single measures like app age limits are insufficient. «Technology companies are borrowing a playbook well known from tobacco and fossil fuels: Manufacture doubt, discredit critics, frame regulation as a threat to freedom,» said series author Barbara Prainsack, a political science professor at the University of Vienna. She argued that good regulation is not the enemy of innovation but a driver of it, channeling technology toward safety and trust. «And when regulation is missing, it doesn’t mean that a technology is ungoverned; it just means that companies set the rules instead of public policy,» she said.
Liu agreed that a public health approach is important and offered considerations for researchers and policymakers: «really listen to young people,» better support overwhelmed families and caregivers, and find novel ways to conduct studies that make the complexities of digital media use easier to understand.
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