Protect Your Child from Digital Threat: A Comprehensive Medical Reference for Researchers and Clinicians

Digital addiction in childhood has emerged as a significant public health concern of the twenty-first century, characterised by compulsive and dysregulated engagement with digital technologies that impairs developmental, psychological, and social functioning. As children increasingly inhabit screen-saturated environments from an unprecedentedly early age, clinicians, researchers, and policymakers have grappled with defining, measuring, and treating this complex and rapidly evolving phenomenon. This narrative review synthesises current evidence on the behavioural phenotypes of digital addiction in children, encompassing internet gaming disorder, social media addiction, and compulsive smartphone use, alongside the neurobiological underpinnings that sustain these behaviours. The literature search was conducted using major academic databases and was restricted to publications available up to March 2026. The neurobiological literature reveals structural and functional alterations in reward circuitry, prefrontal regulatory networks, and dopaminergic signalling systems that parallel those observed in substance use disorders. Treatment evidence, though still maturing, supports cognitive-behavioural therapy as the most empirically validated psychological intervention, with emerging evidence for family-based and pharmacological approaches. The review further addresses epidemiological patterns, risk factors, assessment instruments, and policy implications. Significant heterogeneity in diagnostic criteria and methodological inconsistency across studies remain important limitations in the field. A unified diagnostic and therapeutic framework, combined with robust longitudinal research in diverse paediatric populations, is urgently needed to address this escalating public health challenge. The scarcity of longitudinal evidence tracking digital addiction from early childhood through adolescence into adulthood represents a critical gap that cross-sectional research cannot adequately address. Future research should prioritise longitudinal designs, diverse international samples, standardised diagnostic criteria aligned with ICD-11 (International Classification of Diseases, 11th Revision) and DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition), and rigorous clinical trial methodologies to address these knowledge gaps.