DIGITAL ADDICTION AND ITS PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW STUDY
Keywords:
digital addiction, Internet addiction, smartphone addiction, gaming disorder, depression, anxiety, sleep, systematic reviewAbstract
This systematic review synthesizes empirical findings from 2000 through mid-2025 on psychological outcomes associated with problematic digital behaviors—broadly defined to include Internet addiction (IA), problematic smartphone use (PSU), problematic social media use (PSMU), and Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD). Drawing on meta-analyses, systematic reviews, longitudinal cohort studies, and selected randomized and quasi-experimental trials, the review examines associations with depression, anxiety, sleep disturbance, stress, loneliness, and suicidal ideation. Across multiple high-quality syntheses and large-scale studies, problematic digital behaviors show consistent moderate associations with internalizing symptoms and sleep problems, with adolescents and young adults showing particular vulnerability. Longitudinal evidence frequently indicates bidirectional relationships, though causal pathways remain incompletely resolved due to measurement heterogeneity and confounding. The review identifies key mechanisms (circadian disruption, emotional-escape coping, displacement of offline activities), highlights methodological limitations, and outlines clinical, policy, and research recommendations. Priorities include harmonizing operational definitions, improving longitudinal and interventional research, and targeting sleep and emotion-regulation in prevention and treatment.
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References
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