Knowra Digital media use and mental health Digital media use and mental health Digital media use and mental health is the study of how people’s engagement with digital platforms and content relates to psychological well-being, mental disorders, and mental-health outcomes.
Displacement hypothesis : The hypothesis that time spent on one activity reduces time available for another, potentially changing its benefits or costs. It predicts that screen time may affect well-being by replacing sleep, exercise, or face-to-face contact.
Screen time : The amount of time spent using screens, usually measured across devices or activities. Time totals are common exposure measures, but they say little about what people do onscreen.
Correlation and causation : The distinction between variables changing together and one variable producing a change in another. An association between media use and distress does not establish that use caused distress.
Digital phenotyping : The use of data from personal digital devices to measure behavior or infer aspects of health. Device traces may reveal patterns relevant to mental-health monitoring, with privacy and validity concerns.
Digital media effects on adolescent mental health : Research on how digital media exposure relates to adolescents’ psychological well-being and mental disorders. Adolescent development and high platform use make this a central, contested research area.
Social comparison theory : A theory that people evaluate themselves by comparing their abilities, opinions, or status with those of others. Curated posts can turn online exposure into repeated comparison with idealized lives.
Problematic internet use : A pattern of internet use associated with impaired control and significant problems in daily functioning. It distinguishes potentially harmful patterns from ordinary frequency of use.
Reverse causality : A mistaken causal interpretation in which an outcome may instead influence its supposed cause. Distress may lead people to use digital media differently, reversing the assumed direction.
Social media abstinence : A deliberate period of avoiding social-media platforms, used as a personal or research intervention. Abstinence studies test whether reduced exposure changes mood or life satisfaction.
Longitudinal study : A study that observes the same participants or populations repeatedly over time. Repeated measurements help establish whether media-use changes precede changes in mental health.
Show all 28