Psychological "effects" of digital technology: a meta-analysis.

INTRODUCTION

The digital "revolution" brings along consequences at the individual level, consequences in terms of mental health, both positive and negative. Therefore, the purpose of the meta-analysis presented in this work is to investigate, in the adult population, the associated factors (psychological distress, anxiety, depression, stress, burnout, loneliness and social isolation, insomnia, and psychological well-being (PWB)) by means of digital technology represented by Artificial Intelligence (AI), remote work (RW), smartphone, social media (SM), and smart technologies used in tourism (STT).

METHODS

The meta-analysis was performed between June 2020-June 2024, and the protocol was registered in the PROSPERO database (CRD42024560285). Forty-seven papers involving a total of 36,100 participants were included in the meta-analysis. Standard meta-analytic procedures were applied, and correlation coefficients (r) were used as measures of effect size.

RESULTS

The highest positive value of the effect was obtained for the association between PWB and the use of the digital environment (AI, RW, and STT) r = 0.435, and the highest negative effect value was obtained for the association between burnout and the use of the digital environment (AI and RW) r = -0.478. The moderation analysis further clarified the role of contextual variables.

DISCUSSION/

CONCLUSION

This meta-analysis highlights that digital technologies have both positive and negative effects on adult mental health, reflecting the complex impact of the digital environment.

SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/search, CRD42024560285.