Tristan Merson

2/4/2025
WRTG 391 6378 Advanced Research Writing (2252)

Please review the template along with the examples provided in this course. In those you will notice that
there should be a separate title page and page numbers on each of pages in the upper right. These items
are required within APA.

The Impact of Digital Technology on Adolescent Mental Health

In an ever-increasing digital world, the reliance on screens and devices has become ever

more apparent. The experiences of adolescents are vastly different from those of any other

generation, which is most noticeable in their social interactions, cognitive development, and

mental health. Technology can provide a portal to infinite resources such as educational material,

a way to connect with friends, and endless hours of entertainment, but not without risk. While

screen time can be favorable, excessive time spent in the digital world can negatively affect a

child's life by increasing digital stress. As a parent or guardian, evaluating an adolescent's

technological engagement is essential, weighing its risks and benefits. This thesis essay will

explore six scholarly sources to determine the subtle, nuanced relationship between digital

technology/media and mental health and weigh the effects of digital stress, prenatal engagement,

cognitive development, and social well-being.

The first article being explored is Adolescent Digital Stress: Frequencies, Correlates,

and

Digital Stress Has a Longitudinal Association With Depressive Symptoms. Digital stress refers to

the emotional strain caused by the pressures of social media. These pressures mainly stem from

online communication and users' engagement with their press and other media. Children today

are more connected with each other than ever, but most still feel heightened stress and isolation.

Nick et al. (2022) found that nearly half of adolescents experience digital stress, which follows
the trend of increased symptoms of depression and anxiety. Adolescents then feel like they must

maintain an online social media presence, which leads to endless notifications that create the

pressure to respond immediately to ever-increasing social media interactions. This constant

pressure can weigh heavily on the psyche of adolescents and negatively impact on their self-

esteem and mental performance, which can bleed into other aspects of life, such as academic

performance, causing yet another source of stress.

This constant social comparison heightens digital stress, as adolescents constantly

compare themselves to social media influencers and unrealistic online personas. Social media is

often not an accurate reflection of one's life and, therefore, promotes seemingly impossibly

idealized lifestyles, which sets impossible standards and leads to feelings of inadequacy and

dissatisfaction. Research indicates that excessive screen exposure can result in emotional

dysregulation, which further intensifies anxiety and depression symptoms. Even though social

media can be a platform for peer-to-peer support, the constant need for validation can be

detrimental to one's own self-worth. This research highlights the need for education that

promotes and encourages responsible online behavior and helps adolescents set healthy

boundaries within the digital world.

This does not stop solely with adolescents, though parents significantly transfer what

Deneault and associates (2024) Perceived Parental Distraction by Technology and Mental

Health Among Emerging Adolescents coineds as “Techoference.” Technoference, the distraction

caused by parents' digital device usage, can disrupt family interactions and affect adolescent

mental health. Deneault et al. (2024) examined a bidirectional relationship between

children who see increasingly online parents will tend to exhibit symptoms of mental distress.

Parents who are more absorbed in the daily world may even accidentally neglect important and

key interactions that lead to a child's increased feelings of loneliness and critically impact their

emotional and psychological development. This lack of parental engagement can lead to

adolescent emotional instability.

Technoference is not only about the transferred feelings but also about the transferred

habits, as children tend to model their parents. Suppose a child finds a parent who consistently

prioritizes digital interactions over quality time or face-to-face interactions. In that case, the

adolescent might adopt similar behaviors, which build an increased reliance on digital

interactions and decrease the need for interpersonal skills. Parents who take their heads out of

screens might foster a more meaningful relationship with their children's emotional well-being

and overall mental health. Encouraging parents to be mindful of digital consumption might

actively mitigate a child's need for increased social media dependence and reliance, thus

reducing some of the negative impacts of increased digital stress.

Even with the risks of isolation, dependence, and increased depression and anxiety

symptoms, digital technology as a whole remains a topic of debate on just how significantly it

affects adolescent's cognitive development. Impact of Digital Technologies on Health and

Wellbeing of Children and Adolescents: A Narrative Review does a bit of a deep dive into

exploring the benefits and risks of digital exposure. Sricastace and Patkar et [Link] researchers

(2023) explored both benefits and risks associated with excessive screen time, especially
explaining that even though digital technology can enhance learning, too much screen time can

be linked to specific developmental delays, two of which are the acquisition of language and

executive functioning. This article also finds that prolonged screen time can reduce attention

spans, severely impacting problem-solving abilities and impairing long-term memory. Excessive

screen time may lead children to struggle with critical thinking, ultimately affecting how they

deal with challenges in the real world.

Impact of Digital Technologies on Health and Wellbeing of Children and Adolescents: A

Narrative Review expands on the findings in that literature review and highlights research that

children have issues with developments key to mental health and physical manifestations of

illness. Cullen et al.(2024) highlight an increase in vision problems, obesity, and

insomnia/parasomnia in those who engage in excessive and extended digital sessions. Blue light

from screens disrupts sleep cycles, leading to insomnia and daytime fatigue, ultimately affecting

academic performance and overall health. Sedentary behaviors are also linked with other

physical health concerns, further proving the need to balance a digital presence and an active

lifestyle. These physical detriments also lead to reduced quality of life, which in parallel leads to

decreased mental health.

Digital technology can be used to offer cognitive benefits when used appropriately. There

are a plethora of educational apps, interactive learning platforms, digital simulations, and media

engagement that can give adolescents a boat in things such as academic performance. The main

point here is the exact point necessary for all good things in life: moderation. Moderating screen

time can ensure that screen time can be fun, constructive, and productive. Adding structure to an
adolescent's digital engagement and setting healthy technological boundaries can help maximize

the cognitive benefits of technology while minimizing many risks associated with excessive

screen time.

In the article Review: Digital experiences and their impact on the lives of adolescents

with pre-existing anxiety, depression, eating, and nonsuicidal self-injury conditions – a

systematic review, they explore the effects of screentime and digital technology on adolescents

who already have pre-existing mental health conditions. Krostryka-Allchrone et al. (2022) reveal

that adolescents who already have anxiety, depression, and self-harming ideations may find a

sense of belonging and emotional support in the digital space but might also find harmful content

such as bullying, negative peer interactions, and dangerous content. This demographic might be

exceptionally vulnerable to these specific online stressors, making them have an exacerbated

response and intensified emotional reactions.

One of the significant issues for those who already suffer from mental health disorders is

the problem of self-regulation. More often than not, this study finds that this demographic uses

digital technology as a coping mechanism more readily than their counterparts. An excessive

amount of screen time can negatively reinforce thought patterns and make these mental health

conditions worse. Again, we find that one of the most important things parents or guardians can

do is regulate screen time and help adolescents set healthy boundaries with digital technology so

that they may have positive and meaningful screen time.

The Quality over Quantity Hypothesis: this article argues that it's not quantity but quality. The

content discussed in this article brings up the nature of digital engagement is much more

impactful than the actual quantity. Interactive and educational media are shown to enhance

cognitive and social development. In contrast, passive content consumption like mindless

scrolling or “brain rot” content is more strongly linked to adverse mental health outcomes. This

shows the importance of “co-viewing” and guided screen time. When adolescents engaged in

educational content with their parents, it was shown to be a more impactful and meaningful

experience.

When looking after children, the responsibility falls to the guardians to make sure the

adolescent is regulated and taught how to safely and properly navigate the digital world.

Although it is a tool that can be used for good, it can just as easily negatively affect one's mental

health. Further research that is done should focus on personalized digital experiences that can

help adolescents balance the use of technology and face-to-face interaction. Through a holistic

approach, we can use the digital landscape to enhance their emotions and mental well-being.

The overall text reads more as a bibliographic essay than a cohesive essay review. That is because the
text largely reviews each article as an independent element over seeking to synthesize them around key
points from the research. In a paragraph there should be at least two sources cited, granted in some
cases this may not occur.
 References

Deneault, A., Plamondon, A., Neville, R. D., Eirich, R., McArthur, B. A., Tough, S., & Madigan, S. (2024).

Perceived parental distraction by technology and mental health among emerging adolescents.

JAMA Network Open, 7(8), e2428261. [Link]

Kostyrka‐Allchorne, K., Stoilova, M., Bourgaize, J., Rahali, M., Livingstone, S., & Sonuga‐Barke, E. (2022).

Review: Digital experiences and their impact on the lives of adolescents with pre ‐existing

anxiety, depression, eating and nonsuicidal self‐injury conditions – a systematic review. Child

and Adolescent Mental Health, 28(1), 22-32. [Link]

Nick, E. A., Kilic, Z., Nesi, J., Telzer, E. H., Lindquist, K. A., & Prinstein, M. J. (2022). Adolescent digital

stress: Frequencies, correlates, and longitudinal association with depressive symptoms. Journal

of Adolescent Health, 70(2), 336-339. [Link]

Puzio, D., Makowska, I., & Rymarczyk, K. (2022). Raising the child—Do screen media help or hinder? The

quality over quantity hypothesis. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public

Health, 19(16), 9880. [Link]

Srivastava, C., & Patkar, P. (2023). Digital technology and brain development. Journal of Indian

Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 19(1), 21-26.

[Link]
Cullen J, Muntz A, Marsh S, Simmonds L, Mayes J, O'Neill K, Duncan S. Impacts of digital technologies on

child and adolescent health: recommendations for safer screen use in educational settings. N Z

Med J. 2024 Jul 5;137(1598):9-13. doi: 10.26635/6965.6565. PMID: 38963926.