Effects of Digital Technology on Juvenile Well-being: A Systematic Review

Pages: 354-359
Diganta Panda1, Ranajit Bera2, Ramya Ranjan Behera3, and R. Karthik4 (Rekhi Centre of Excellence for the Science of Happiness, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, West Bengal1,2,3, and Advanced Technology Development Centre, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, West Bengal4)

The purpose of this article is to present a synopsis of the research on juvenile well-being and the usage of digital technologies. In sum, the data suggest that the consequences are generally unfavourable, but negligible. Procrastination and passive usage are associated with greater negative impacts, while social and active uses are associated with more good outcomes. Short-term indicators of hedonic well-being (such as negative affect) are more strongly affected by digital technology use than long-term eudaimonic well-being indicators (e.g., life satisfaction). Adolescents are particularly susceptible, but adults are not spared either. Evidently, low and high usage are linked to lower levels of happiness, but moderate usage is associated with higher levels of happiness. There are many gaps in the existing research that need to be filled. There is a lack of high-quality research that include large samples, objective measures of digital technology use, and experience sampling of happiness.