Global Digital Wellbeing

Background: Previous research on the relationship between adolescents' media use and wellbeing has predominantly focused on the Global North, neglecting the fact that the majority of the world's adolescents reside in the Global South (Boer et al., 2020; Orben et al., 2022; Ghai et al., 2022). Studies conducted in Europe and the US have consistently indicated a negative association between media use and adolescent wellbeing (Boer et al., 2020; Orben et al., 2022). However, it remains unclear whether these findings can be generalized to countries worldwide. Given the contextual differences between the Global North and the Global South, it is plausible that the relationship between media use and wellbeing may vary across these regions. For instance, research has suggested that the adept use of digital media in low-income countries can facilitate poverty alleviation (Castells et al., 2006), promote social mobility (Clayton & Macdonald, 2013), and enhance educational achievements (Livingstone & Helsper, 2007). Furthermore, recent investigations have identified modest yet significant positive relationships between internet access and wellbeing across 168 countries (Vuorre & Przybylski, 2023 Preprint). Research: In this exploratory project, we aim to examine the association between media use and wellbeing across different countries. To accomplish this, we will analyze secondary data collected from over 30,000 adolescents residing in 31 countries across Europe, Africa, and South-East Asia. The dataset comprises information from two large-scale research initiatives: Disrupting Harm (unicef-irc.org) and EU Kids Online (lse.ac.uk). This pre-registration outlines our preliminary efforts to elucidate the relationship between media use and wellbeing on a global scale.