Problematic Digital Media Use and Addiction

Adolescents spend considerable amounts of time using digital media and social media. Although risks and benefits exist, clinicians, teachers, and parents have grown concerned about problematic use, or excessive use that interferes with adolescents’ health, well-being, and development. In this chapter, we explain the difference between problematic and normative media use, and review existing prevention and treatment approaches for problematic social media use. Although we could not identify published prevention or intervention programs specific to problematic social media use, we present results from a pilot study and other digital media interventions and provide guidance on how clinicians should screen for problematic media use. As this research is still in its early stages, we conclude with directions for future research. Research needs to expand beyond simple measures of amount of social media use and recruit more diverse adolescents (including adolescents with comorbid mental health concerns).