Digital Media May Harm Kids’ Health, but How They Use It Matters
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Digital media has become a routine part of childhood, but new research is raising concerns about how problematic screen use may affect young people's health—and experts say the answer may not be simply getting children to spend less time online.
A new analysis covering 121 global studies found that excessive screen use was associated with about 20% of depression cases and 15% of obesity cases among young people, according to research published as part of a series in The Lancet. The findings add to growing concerns that children's digital environment has become a public health issue.
However, the research comes with an important qualification: much of the available evidence shows associations rather than proving that digital media directly causes these health problems.
That distinction matters because children's experiences with technology vary widely. Young people with existing mental health vulnerabilities, less support offline and lower digital literacy may be more likely to experience harm.
Digital Media Is Not Simply Good or Bad
Researchers argue that the debate should move beyond the idea that all screen use is harmful.
Digital media can give children opportunities to learn, socialize, explore their identities, find information and develop interests. Moderate or purposeful use can also provide benefits, including opportunities for connection and well-being.
The more important question may therefore be what children are doing online, how they are using digital media and what it replaces in their lives.
Using a device to communicate with friends, learn a new skill or participate in a creative activity is different from spending hours scrolling through content that makes a child feel anxious or inadequate.
Louise Holly, lead author of the research on children and digital media, argued that responsibility for addressing these risks should not fall entirely on parents. She said the issue should also be considered at the level of public health policy and technology governance.
Why Some Children May Be More Vulnerable
Children and teenagers are going through significant periods of brain and emotional development. That can make their experiences with digital platforms particularly important.
Clinical psychologist Nicole Amoyal Pensak, who was not involved in the research, recommends helping young people understand how their developing brains respond to repeated behaviors.
Instead of simply imposing restrictions, parents can encourage children to notice how particular online activities affect their thoughts, emotions and behavior.
For example, if a child repeatedly compares their appearance with people they see on social media and begins feeling worse about themselves, that pattern may be worth addressing.
The goal is not necessarily to eliminate the technology but to help children recognize which digital experiences are beneficial and which ones may be pulling them in an unhealthy direction.
Parents Can Focus on Healthier Digital Activities
Experts interviewed for the report suggest that parents act more like guides than simply gatekeepers.
That can mean asking children what they are doing online, discussing how different content makes them feel and sometimes using digital media together.
Digital activities that encourage creativity or learning can be particularly useful.
A child might watch a video to learn how to crochet, make something with their hands, create a dance with friends or explore an interest that is not available through school activities.
Video games can also provide useful challenges. Working through increasingly difficult levels can give children opportunities to develop problem-solving skills and confidence.
The key is to consider whether the activity is helping a child develop skills, connect with others or pursue a meaningful interest rather than simply keeping them engaged for as long as possible.
Digital Media Should Not Replace Offline Life
One of the clearest themes in the research is that digital media needs to be considered within the wider environment surrounding a child.
Technology can help young people maintain friendships and find communities with shared interests. But it should not completely replace face-to-face interaction, physical activity, sleep or other important parts of childhood.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention similarly notes that digital behaviors can influence sleep, physical activity, nutrition, safety and mental well-being. It recommends helping adolescents develop skills for managing screen use and creating opportunities for time away from devices.
This makes the question of screen time more complicated than simply counting the number of hours a child spends looking at a screen.
The timing, content, purpose and consequences of that use can all matter.
Researchers Want More Than Parental Screen-Time Rules
The new Lancet research argues that parents cannot solve the problem on their own.
The researchers say governments and technology companies also have roles to play because many digital platforms are designed around engagement and data collection.
Features such as infinite scrolling, autoplay and personalized recommendation systems can encourage users to remain on platforms for longer periods. Researchers argue that these design choices should be part of the public health discussion.
The authors are also calling for technology companies to provide vetted researchers with better access to data about how platform features affect users' health.
That would make it easier to independently examine potential harms and benefits instead of relying primarily on information controlled by the companies themselves.
The Evidence Still Has Important Limits
Despite the scale of the research, experts caution against treating the findings as proof that screen use directly causes depression, obesity or other health conditions.
The underlying evidence includes studies that rely on self-reported digital-media use, and the certainty of many findings remains low.
The Lancet series describes the associations between problematic digital media use and health harms as modest and says the available evidence cannot establish cause and effect.
That means parents should be cautious about interpreting the research as a reason to eliminate digital devices from children's lives.
Instead, the evidence supports a more targeted approach: pay attention to what children are doing online, how it affects them and whether digital activities are crowding out sleep, exercise, relationships and other healthy experiences.
A Healthier Approach May Be About How Kids Use Technology
Digital media is unlikely to disappear from children's lives. Smartphones, social platforms, online games and other digital tools are already deeply integrated into how young people learn, communicate and entertain themselves.
That makes the goal less about keeping children completely offline and more about helping them develop healthier relationships with technology.
Parents can help by talking with children about their digital experiences, encouraging creative and educational activities, protecting time for sleep and offline relationships, and paying attention to signs that particular forms of media are making them feel worse.
At the same time, researchers argue that technology companies and governments need to address the design and governance of digital platforms.
The emerging evidence suggests that the most useful question may not be simply “How much screen time is too much?”
It may be “What is this screen time doing for the child?”
That shift could help families distinguish between digital activities that support learning, creativity and connection and those that may contribute to unhealthy patterns.
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