Not All Screen Use is Equal: Shifting the Focus from Screen Time to Problematic Use in Child and Adolescent...

Digital media is an increasingly central part of children's and adolescents' lives, prompting growing concern among parents, educators, clinicians, and policymakers about its impact on cognitive, emotional, social, and physical well-being. This narrative review synthesizes evidence from 52 systematic reviews and meta-analyses, along with key individual studies, to assess the state of knowledge on youth digital media use. Findings show a clear pattern: problematic media use is consistently linked to adverse outcomes across domains, whereas general digital media use shows mixed effects shaped by content, motives, context, individual traits, and theoretical perspectives. The review highlights the need to move beyond simplistic screen time metrics toward dynamic, person-centered models that clarify mechanisms, identify at-risk children and adolescents, and guide targeted interventions and policy responses in families, schools, clinical practice, and digital platform governance.