Digital media plays a very important role in today’s life. Not only young people, but people of all ages, and all professions are using digital media (e.g., digital images, digital video, video games, websites, and social media) as a means of communication and for entertainment purposes. With the emergence of digital media, daily activities such as knowledge exchange and socialization could occur instantly without geographic boundaries and in more diverse ways incorporating innovative elements to capture human attention and promote social connectedness. Not all the effects are positive, however. Intimacy and human-to-human interactions are essential for mental wellness, but human-to-machine interactions can replace all these human interactions and relationships. Furthermore, modern technology paves a way for social comparison which could potentially negatively impact mental health such as increased anxiety and decreased self-esteem. Hence, digital media can be a double-edged sword for mental health, possibly depending on a range of genetic, behavioral, and contextual factors that might act alone or together to influence a person’s response to digital content.
This Research Topic aims to bring together some of the latest research investigating the role of screen use in the development of common mental health problems (e.g., anxiety, depression, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), risk behaviors (e.g., non-suicidal self-injury and suicide), and addictive behavior (e.g., social media addiction and gaming addiction). Topics that explore the advantages of digital media for mental health promotion are also encouraged. Priority will be given to papers that describe the interprofessional collaboration and/or person- and family-oriented approaches to addressing the question of interindividual variation in psychological and behavioral responsiveness to different forms of online or virtual activities (e.g., virtual reality, video games, internet, wearable devices, mobile phone, social media, and text messaging). We aim to build a collection of articles that will demonstrate the promising potential of an interdisciplinary approach that integrates biological, psychological, and social evidence as well as technical, methodological, and media-related elements as a framework for understanding digital media use and mental health.
We welcome Original Research, Systematic Review, Meta-analysis, Perspectives, Brief Research Report, Clinical Trial, and Case Studies that cover, but are not limited to, the following themes:
• Psychological model of how and why digital media use leads to interindividual variation in mental health outcomes
• Cultural and social influences on the association between digital media use and mental health
• The extent to which genes influence digital media use behavior and mental health outcomes
• Life-course trajectories of screen use patterns and their impact on mental health
• Characteristics of human-to-machine interactions that can enhance or reduce mental health problems
• Use of biomarkers in the assessment of mental health effects of exposure to digital media
• Detecting mental health problems on social media using big data analytics
Digital media plays a very important role in today’s life. Not only young people, but people of all ages, and all professions are using digital media (e.g., digital images, digital video, video games, websites, and social media) as a means of communication and for entertainment purposes. With the emergence of digital media, daily activities such as knowledge exchange and socialization could occur instantly without geographic boundaries and in more diverse ways incorporating innovative elements to capture human attention and promote social connectedness. Not all the effects are positive, however. Intimacy and human-to-human interactions are essential for mental wellness, but human-to-machine interactions can replace all these human interactions and relationships. Furthermore, modern technology paves a way for social comparison which could potentially negatively impact mental health such as increased anxiety and decreased self-esteem. Hence, digital media can be a double-edged sword for mental health, possibly depending on a range of genetic, behavioral, and contextual factors that might act alone or together to influence a person’s response to digital content.
This Research Topic aims to bring together some of the latest research investigating the role of screen use in the development of common mental health problems (e.g., anxiety, depression, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), risk behaviors (e.g., non-suicidal self-injury and suicide), and addictive behavior (e.g., social media addiction and gaming addiction). Topics that explore the advantages of digital media for mental health promotion are also encouraged. Priority will be given to papers that describe the interprofessional collaboration and/or person- and family-oriented approaches to addressing the question of interindividual variation in psychological and behavioral responsiveness to different forms of online or virtual activities (e.g., virtual reality, video games, internet, wearable devices, mobile phone, social media, and text messaging). We aim to build a collection of articles that will demonstrate the promising potential of an interdisciplinary approach that integrates biological, psychological, and social evidence as well as technical, methodological, and media-related elements as a framework for understanding digital media use and mental health.
We welcome Original Research, Systematic Review, Meta-analysis, Perspectives, Brief Research Report, Clinical Trial, and Case Studies that cover, but are not limited to, the following themes:
• Psychological model of how and why digital media use leads to interindividual variation in mental health outcomes
• Cultural and social influences on the association between digital media use and mental health
• The extent to which genes influence digital media use behavior and mental health outcomes
• Life-course trajectories of screen use patterns and their impact on mental health
• Characteristics of human-to-machine interactions that can enhance or reduce mental health problems
• Use of biomarkers in the assessment of mental health effects of exposure to digital media
• Detecting mental health problems on social media using big data analytics
