Impacts of digital media use on children and young people's mental health and wellbeing: evidence review
This rapid evidence review synthesises 141 sources published between August 2023 and July 2026 on the impacts of digital media on children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing.
Footnotes
1 This finding must be interpreted with caution, as the sample comprised a higher proportion of families at risk of disadvantage, which could be associated with greater parenting stress than the general population.
2 Cybercrime and scams were also highlighted as online harms in a Young Scot ‘Truth About Youth’ survey of 2,660 11-15 year olds in Scotland (2026). 12% said they been a victim of cybercrime, and 45% being targeted by scams. However, these topics were not identified by literature retrieved in the library database search.
3 Notably, data collection took place during the period of COVID-19, potentially shaping both digital media use and wellbeing.
4 The family APGAR scale is a validated five-item tool that assesses family functioning across five domains: adaptation, partnership, growth, affection, and resolution.
Contact
Email: socialresearch@gov.scot