Purpose Of Review: Despite growing public concern about the negative impact of digital media for mental health problems, there are key ways in which digital media can be leveraged to prevent such outcomes. This article reviews research exploring the ways that digital media, particularly social media, can be used to prevent negative mental health outcomes and promote youth mental health and well-being.
Recent Findings: Research indicates that media can be protective against mental health problems and promote mental health by enabling social support and destigmatizing mental illness, especially for youth with limited resources.
Child Adolesc Psychiatr Clin N Am
July 2024
Advances in Internet technologies have implications for the health and development of children and adolescents with potential for both beneficial and harmful outcomes. Similar technological advances also impact how psychiatrists deliver mental health care in clinical settings. Internet tech adds complexities to psychiatric practice in the form of electronic health records, patient portals, and virtual patient contact, which clinicians must understand and successfully incorporate into practice.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose Of Review: We review recent evidence regarding the relationship between the social media (SM) habits, experiences, and the mental health of youth. We examine effects of social media use (SMU) on specific diagnoses including depression and anxiety. The relationship between psychiatric illness, specific SM experiences, and the issue of SM mental health contagion is also explored.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBlack out rage gallons (BORGs) are a troublesome drinking pattern emerging on social media platforms. The prevalence of BORGs has been increasing on college campuses and is demonstrating significant consequences. There is no known research on BORGs in addiction treatment settings.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChild Adolesc Psychiatr Clin N Am
April 2018
In the past 2 decades, there has been substantial increase in availability and use of digital technologies, including the Internet, computer games, smart phones, and social media. Behavioral addiction to use of technologies spawned a body of related research. The recent inclusion of Internet gaming disorder as a condition for further study in the DSM-V invigorated a new wave of researchers, thereby expanding our understanding of these conditions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChild Adolesc Psychiatr Clin N Am
April 2018
Clinicians who work with youth should understand how they engage with screen media, including differences between ethnic groups, and how to maximize its positive potential and minimize negative consequences. This article presents data summarizing patterns of media use by youth, with an emphasis on European Americans, African Americans, and Hispanic Americans. The authors explain how identity formation and social identity theory relate to online influences, benefits, and risks of online engagement, including those specific to minority populations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe Internet changed the way the global community interacts and communicates. This cultural shift allows like-minded individuals to connect and share ideas. It creates spaces for stigmatized communities to gather in a virtual presence.
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