SynthesisEuropean child & adolescent psychiatry2024
Longitudinal associations between digital media use and ADHD symptoms in children and adolescents: a systematic literature review.
Synthesis in European child & adolescent psychiatry, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 52 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
52 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Screen Time Among and Youth Children With Disabilities: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Child: care, health and development · 2025Pooled it
- Data-driven mechanistic analysis of digital therapeutic-assisted training and evaluation of personalized protocol effects in children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Trial
- Modernizing behavioral parent training program for ADHD with mHealth strategies, telehealth groups, and health behavior curriculum: a randomized pilot trial.Journal of pediatric psychology · 2024Trial
- Association between trauma exposure and mental health among adolescents with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.European journal of psychotraumatology · 2026Article
- Adolescents' Perspectives on Self-Regulation and Need for Change in Digital Media Use: A Focus Group Study.Journal of adolescence · 2026Article
- Toddler Screen Time: Longitudinal Associations with Autism and ADHD Symptoms and Developmental Outcomes.Child psychiatry and human development · 2026Article
- Screen use, health status, and self-perceived academic performance among Swedish dental and nursing students: an exploratory cross-sectional survey study.BMC medical education · 2026Article
- White matter integrity buffers the impact of screen time on inhibitory control in youth.Developmental cognitive neuroscience · 2026Article
- Digital Media and Device-Related Conflicts During Pediatric Mental Health Boarding.Pediatric emergency care · 2026Article
- Digital Transition and Mental Health in School Settings: Does Handwriting Still Matter? A Multidisciplinary Perspective.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Problematic digital use in adolescents with ADHD: impulsivity, obsessive-compulsive symptoms, and perceived cognitive flexibility.BMC psychology · 2026Article
- Digital media balance and mental health: effects of a school-based program.Child and adolescent psychiatry and mental health · 2026Article
- Problematic Social Media Use and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Symptoms in Adolescents.JAMA network open · 2026Article
- The association between ADHD symptoms and different dimensions of problematic use of social media among adolescent: results from the "LifeOnSoMe"-study.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Time Out: A Scoping Review of Non-Duration Based Social Media Use Measures and Adolescent Mental Health.Journal of adolescence · 2026Article
- Connectome-based prediction of problematic use of social media in adolescents: Findings from the ABCD study.NeuroImage · 2026Article
- Screen time in preschool-aged children and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder-related behaviors: A literature review.World journal of clinical pediatrics · 2026Review
- Peer bullying victimisation and depressive symptoms as serial mediators between attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms and internet gaming disorder among Chinese adolescents: A three-wave longitudinal study.General psychiatry · 2026Article
- From Assessment to Intervention: Leveraging Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) to Develop a Personalized mobile-health (mHealth) Ecological Momentary Intervention (EMI) for Young Adults With ADHD and High-Risk Alcohol Use.Journal of studies on alcohol and drugs · 2026Article
- Digital Media, Genetics, and Risk for ADHD Symptoms in Children: A Longitudinal Study.Pediatrics open science · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Previous reviews have often shown a link between digital media ADHD symptom levels. However, longitudinal studies are needed to find stronger evidence of a causal effect as well as to determine the direction of effects. The aim of the present review (PROSPERO CRD42021262695) was therefore to provide a systematic review of studies meeting the following inclusion criteria: (1) include longitudinal data investigating associations between digital media (i.e., gaming and social media) and later ADHD symptoms or vice versa, (2) be published within the past 10 years (i.e., 2011 until June 2021), (3) be published in a peer-reviewed journal in English, and (4) include children or adolescents (age 0-17 years). After a systematic search in the Web of Science and PsycInfo databases, we included 28 studies, all with adequate or high quality. Results showed support for reciprocal associations between digital media and ADHD symptoms, with associations being more consistent for problematic use of digital media than for screen time. Thus, children with ADHD symptoms appear more vulnerable to developing high or problematic use of digital media (i.e., selection effects), and digital media also have effects on later ADHD symptom levels, either because of specific characteristics of digital media or because of indirect effects on, for example, sleep and social relations (i.e., media effects). However, it should be emphasized that further studies investigating potential moderators and mediators are needed if we are to better understand the complex associations between digital media and ADHD symptom levels.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.