Cross-Disciplinary Perspectives on Youth Digital Well-Being Research: Identifying Notable Developments, Persistent Gaps, and Future Directions

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to provide a broad, multi-disciplinary overview of key insights, persistent gaps, and future paths in youth digital well-being research from the perspectives of researchers who are conducting this work. Participants included 38 researchers representing diverse disciplinary fields from universities and research institutes spanning 12 countries. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 25 researchers via Zoom and hosted a two-day virtual convening with 26 researchers, 13 of whom had participated in the interviews. We employed reflexive thematic analysis to analyze the interview and convening data. Our analysis surfaced three notable developments in youth digital well-being research: (1) greater nuance in measures of young people’s social media experiences, (2) increased representation of diverse adolescents’ experiences, and (3) a growing number of interventions targeting youth digital well-being. Persistent gaps include a relative lack of cross-cultural work, particularly in the Global South, as well as culturally sensitive interventions that fit the needs and contexts of diverse youth. By examining existing research through the perspectives of researchers spanning multiple fields, we contribute a cross-disciplinary view on the current state of knowledge and identify priorities for youth digital well-being research.