Digital Behavior Change Interventions for Digital Overuse: Scoping Review of Current Approaches and Emerging AI-Enabled Systems.

BACKGROUND

Digital overuse poses a significant threat to health through multiple pathways, including the deterioration of mental health and sleep disturbance. This issue has led to the development of digital overuse-targeted digital behavior change interventions (DO-DBCIs). Although research in this field has advanced by adopting state-of-the-art technologies, substantial gaps exist in elements critical to establishing intervention validity, including target devices and activities, intervention strategies, theoretical foundations, target populations, and sustainability of effects.

OBJECTIVE

This scoping review aimed to systematically map DO-DBCI research across these five dimensions and to identify structural gaps and future research priorities.

METHODS

Following PRISMA-ScR (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews) guidelines, 4 databases (Web of Science, ACM Digital Library, IEEE Xplore, and PubMed) were searched on August 4, 2026, for studies published through 2025. Of 3260 records retrieved, 32 studies were included after 2-stage screening by 2 independent reviewers.

RESULTS

Pronounced structural biases were identified across all 5 dimensions. Most studies targeted smartphones exclusively (27/32, 84%) and aimed at reducing total usage time without distinguishing specific activities (26/32, 81%); no study addressed short-form video platforms. Self-monitoring was the most frequently identified strategy, followed by nudge and friction, while AI- and machine learning (ML)-based interventions remained limited. Of the 32 studies, 12 (38%) lacked an explicit theoretical framework. Target populations were heavily skewed toward young adults (17/31, 55%), with only 1 of 31 studies (3%) targeting adolescents. Most studies adopted short-term designs of 4 weeks or less, and only 38% (12/32) included any postintervention follow-up.

CONCLUSIONS

This first comprehensive scoping review of DO-DBCI identifies 4 critical gaps-device and activity concentration, theory-to-design disconnect, demographic skew toward convenience samples, and insufficient longitudinal evaluation. Future research should prioritize activity-specific interventions, explicit theory-driven design, expanded population diversity, and standardized longitudinal study designs.