Internet Use Disorders and Mental Health Among Adolescents

Internet use disorders encompass a spectrum of maladaptive behaviours characterised by excessive or poorly controlled engagement with online activities, including gaming, social networking and smartphone use. Among adolescents, a population in critical developmental transition, these excessive online behaviours have been linked to a range of mental health challenges such as depression, anxiety, sleep disturbances and diminished academic performance. Emerging evidence points to both direct effects—where excessive screen time disrupts circadian rhythms or replaces offline social interaction—and indirect mechanisms, such as the use of online platforms to cope with dysphoric mood or social stress. The ubiquity of smartphones and social media serves to reinforce patterns of compulsive checking and social comparison, heightening vulnerability to negative self-evaluation. Sociodemographic factors, individual traits and contextual influences—including family environment, peer relationships and academic demands—moderate the risk of developing problematic use. Current research emphasises the need for rigorous longitudinal designs, standardised diagnostic criteria and evidence-based interventions to mitigate long-term mental health consequences and guide public health policy.

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Internet Use Disorders and Mental Health Among Adolescents publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in internet use disorders and mental health among adolescents across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Internet use disorder: A pattern of persistent or recurrent online engagement that leads to clinically significant impairment or distress.

Problematic social media use: Excessive engagement with social networking platforms characterised by compulsive checking, loss of control and negative impact on daily functioning.

Fear of missing out (FOMO): A pervasive apprehension that others may be having rewarding experiences from which one is absent, driving compulsive online monitoring.

Cross-sectional study: An observational design that analyses data from a population at a single point in time to identify associations.

Longitudinal cohort study: A research approach that follows a group of individuals over an extended period to assess temporal relationships and causal inferences.

References

1. A systematic review: the influence of social media on depression, anxiety and psychological distress in adolescents. International Journal of Adolescence and Youth (2019).
2. A conceptual and methodological critique of internet addiction research: Towards a model of compensatory internet use. Computers in Human Behavior (2014).
3. Mobile phone use and stress, sleep disturbances, and symptoms of depression among young adults - a prospective cohort study. BMC Public Health (2011).
4. Problematic Social Media Use: Results from a Large-Scale Nationally Representative Adolescent Sample. PLOS ONE (2017).