Digital well-being in children and youth: Protocol for a comprehensive systematic review of reviews on interventions of problematic digital technology use

Background

Digital technologies proliferate in many people’s lives around the world with over 65% of these technology users being online. Children and youth are among the most prominent adopters of digital technologies in forms such as video gaming, social media, and online shopping. Problematic use of digital technologies can lead to poorer school/work performance, neglect of self-care skills, and comorbidities with other mental health issues. However, when used non-problematically, digital technology can also contribute to improving health and well-being. With the abundance of literature published, many reviews have sought to collate literature on treatment and interventions for children and youth with varying results. Thus, our proposed systematic review aims to synthesize current systematic reviews and meta-analyses on interventions and treatment of problematic digital technology use in children and youth (up to 25 years old).

Methods

As part of a three-paper series, a systematic search was completed in PsycINFO, Web of Science, and PubMed databases. Grey literature databases of the World Health Organization (IRIS database) and ClinicalTrials.gov were also searched. Furthermore, hand-searching of reference lists was also conducted. Title and abstract screening, followed by full-text screening, were completed by at least two independent reviewers. For this review, the extractions and the quality of selected reviews will be assessed using AMSTAR 2.0 by two authors independently and reviewed by two additional authors.

Results

Results will be presented in narrative and tabular form. The results of this study are expected to offer insights into the populations of children and youth studied, treatments/interventions provided, outcomes, results, limitations, and conclusions of literature from the past five years. Feasibility and generalizability of the reviews will also be discussed.

Conclusions

Methodological strengths and weaknesses of reviewed studies will point to gaps in knowledge and can be used to inform future areas of policy and research.