Researcher Louise Holley, from the "DTH Lab," explained that the weakness of the evidence is partly due to the difficulty researchers face in obtaining data from technology companies, noting that digital business models focus on capturing users' attention and collecting their data, without giving sufficient priority to health.
Researcher Falk Müller-Riemenschneider warned of the potential health cost of excessive use, pointing to estimates suggesting that spending more than two hours a day in front of digital devices is associated with a global annual loss estimated at about 2.8 million healthy life years due to depression, and 240,000 years due to obesity.
The study authors believe that addressing these risks is not limited to banning children and adolescents from using social media, but requires broader measures, including obligating technology companies to assess the health risks of new products and features before launching them, and making data available to independent researchers.
The researchers also call for setting international standards in coordination with the World Health Organization, and establishing an international body specialized in monitoring the potential effects of artificial intelligence on children and young people.
The researchers confirm that these steps could contribute to enhancing the protection of young generations, with the need to continue research to determine the nature of the relationship between digital use and health, and the scale of potential risks more accurately.
