Thammasat University students interested in psychology, education, media studies, sociology, and related subjects may find a new book useful.
Handbook of Adolescent Digital Media Use and Mental Health is an Open Access book available for free download at this link:
The TU Library collection includes a number of books about different aspects of digital media use.
The publisher’s description of the book explains:
The experience of contemporary adolescents is one that differs profoundly from that of earlier generations. Research on adolescence has also endured substantial change, and the concept of change is central to the topics addressed in this handbook. Change, for example, is key to the very definition of adolescence as a developmental time period marked by rapid physical, social, and psychological transformation. Accumulating evidence in developmental neuroscience over the past decades reveals a complexity of change not previously understood. Mental health is also an evolving concept – both in definition and in practice – with our understanding of what constitutes “good” mental health subject to fluctuating societal norms and stigmas, emerging diagnostic categories and dimensions, and increasing prevalence rates. Yet perhaps most closely tied to the concept of change is digital media – inextricably linked with evolution, adaptation, and transformation. To understand digital media is to recognize and wrestle with a constantly evolving phenomenon – an entity that changes within a world that changes around it, both as a cause and a consequence of it.
Research on digital media must enter into this complex exchange. As researchers aim to make sense of digital media, to describe its usage and effects, to catalogue where it is, where it was, and where it will be, scientists must themselves become embedded in this changing context. In this volume, we strive to embrace the complexities brought on by phenomena that are so closely tied to change. We bring together the foremost experts in digital media and adolescent mental health, to work toward an understanding of what we currently do and do not, can and cannot, know; what prior research has taught us; and, perhaps most importantly, how to approach the future of this field.
For the purposes of this study, the term digital media has been used to including smartphones, mobile applications, and social media.
In considering the effects of digital media on adolescent mental health, the question is how smartphones operate as well as how they are used by adolescents. As the book’s introduction notes:
And when it comes to adolescents, that means a key area of focus must be on the social. It has long been recognized that adolescence is a period of increased interest and engagement in social interactions, particularly with peers, and is accompanied by heightened biological sensitivity to peer evaluation and social rewards. It is perhaps no surprise, then, that the vast majority of digital media tools adopted by adolescents are social or interactive in nature. Thus, for the purposes of this handbook, we devote considerable attention to social media, or “Internet-based channels that allow users to opportunistically interact and selectively self-present, either in real-time or asynchronously with both broad and narrow audiences who derive value from user-generated content and the perception of interaction with others.” We define this to include social networking sites (Instagram, Snapchat, WeChat, and Facebook), messaging tools (text messaging and messaging apps), online forums and communities, video- and image-sharing platforms (YouTube and TikTok), and video games with a social component.
Of course, the challenge of defining what digital and social media are is complicated by the constantly – and quickly – evolving nature of the technical landscape. From MySpace to TikTok, desktop computer to iPhone, video games to virtual reality, the tools that encompass digital media change frequently and often drastically. While it is important to recognize the specific affordances of platforms that may influence their use and effects, research efforts that focus on a single platform often become quickly outdated and can lack generalizability to future work. In this volume, we strive to unify prior research from a perspective that is agnostic to specific platforms or tools; in doing so, our goal is to provide a reference and guide for future scholarship that remains relevant beyond the existence of a given site or app. We recognize that, by necessity, we can only capture the state of this research at a very specific snapshot in time. Yet it is our hope that by approaching the topic with both historical and forward-looking lenses, we may integrate the idea of an evolving digital media into our very definition of this concept moving forward.
Research published earlier this year in Public Health magazine described Digital Media Use and Adolescents’ Mental Health During the Covid-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
The article’s abstract read:
The Covid-19 physical distancing measures had a detrimental effect on adolescents’ mental health. Adolescents worldwide alleviated the negative experiences of social distancing by spending more time on digital devices. Through a systematic literature search in eight academic databases (including Eric, Proquest Sociology, Communication & Mass Media Complete, Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Pubmed, and Web of Science), the present systematic review and meta-analysis first summarized the existing evidence from 30 studies, published up to September 2021, on the link between mental health and digital media use in adolescents during Covid-19. Digital media use measures included social media, screen time, and digital media addiction. Mental health measures were grouped into conceptually similar dimensions, such as well-being, ill-being, social well-being, lifestyle habits, and Covid-19-related stress. Results showed that, although most studies reported a positive association between ill-being and social media use (r = 0.171, p = 0.011) and ill-being and media addiction (r = 0.434, p = 0.024), not all types of digital media use had adverse consequences on adolescents’ mental health. In particular, one-to-one communication, self-disclosure in the context of mutual online friendship, as well as positive and funny online experiences mitigated feelings of loneliness and stress. Hence, these positive aspects of online activities should be promoted. At the same time, awareness of the detrimental effects of addictive digital media use should be raised: That would include making adolescents more aware of adverse mechanisms such as social comparison, fear of missing out, and exposure to negative contents, which were more likely to happen during social isolation and confinement due to the pandemic.
In short, while digital media can have negative results from young people feeling isolated and even addicted to its use, there can also be positive results from funny items posted online and communication with friends through social media.
(All images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)