Problematic smartphone use is linked to mental health, sleep and sedentary problems. The design of the platforms, designed to create dependency, is under attack: rules and greater transparency on data are needed.
Moving in a problematic way in the digital world is associated with mental distress, sleep problems and loss of physical activity: these are correlations, admittedly, not consistent evidence, but the stakes are too high not to act immediately and in a structured way.
An article in the magazine Lancet returns to the topic of young people and digital media with a new review of studies, which highlights precise responsibilities: the problematic use of digital media does not depend on individual responsibilities but on very precise business models and design choices.
Digital media: it all depends on how you use them
The work, coordinated by Ilona Kickbusch, of the Digital Transformations for Health Lab (DTH-Lab) in Switzerland, admits that the use of digital media now permeates childhood and adolescence, but recalls that, with adequate and shared rules, it is possible to promote a healthy, balanced use of these very powerful tools, to enjoy the opportunities they offer without substantial risks to health.
“Digital media” is a broad definition that includes the content people watch, create and share, the platforms on which this occurs, and the devices they use. The authors recall that problematic use does not simply mean a prolonged time of use, but rather a method of use which evokes addictive behaviors.
More transparent management
The study is a general review (i.e. an analysis of previous reviews), which includes nine million people under 25 but cannot establish a cause-and-effect relationship between problematic digital media use and poor health.
“The most valuable data on how these platforms actually influence users is hidden within tech companies, a fact that limits independent scrutiny and slows scientific progress,” says Louise Holly, one of the study’s authors. “A key recommendation from our series is that governments should require tech companies to share data on how their features affect users’ health.”
These companies, like multinational tobacco companies in the past, have been allowed to self-regulate for decades without stringent rules on consumer health. The result? Platforms designed to collect data and keep us glued to the screens with automatic playback systems, infinite scrolling, personalized feeds.
Therefore, addiction mechanisms are not self-control problems but the natural consequence of careful design choices. And the way we study these phenomena today is still immature: it is not enough to simply observe how much time is spent on digital media without interested in how.
Broaden your gaze to the entire population
A good public health approach, the study continues, shifts attention from the damage to the individual, which companies will continue to diminish following a strategy already seen in the past, to the effects on the entire population.
To get an idea of the extent of the potential damage, the authors developed projections of how many years of healthy life could be lost around the world due to excessive time spent in front of screens: 2.8 million years lost due to depression and 240,000 due to obesity (although these are uncertain estimates and should be interpreted with caution).
Instead, good regulation that entrusts user protection rules to governments could be a driver of positive innovation for companies. Companies should be required to assess the risks of their products before releasing platforms and to share data on their impacts with independent researchers. Basic standards should be promoted at WHO level to prevent companies from ending up operating in countries with less stringent rules. Finally, an international body should monitor the risks of using AI on digital media accessed by minors.
