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Cited by 220Child Development and Digital TechnologyImpact of Technology on AdolescentsSexuality, Behavior, and Technology

Interactional theory of childhood problematic media use

Open access
Domoff, Sarah E., Borgen, Aubrey L., Radesky, Jenny S.·2020·Human Behavior and Emerging Technologies
DOI 10.1002/hbe2.217PMC PMC9645666
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Abstract

The growth of mobile device access and ownership has yielded many opportunities and challenges for raising healthy digital media consumers. As adoption of mobile and internet-connected devices has increased among children, concerns for healthy child development have been expressed regarding excessive or problematic use. Although much theoretical and empirical work has been conducted evaluating adolescents' and adults' risks for dependence on various screen media (e.g., Gaming Disorder, Internet Addiction), little theoretical consideration has been expounded regarding the etiology and maintenance of problematic media use earlier in childhood (i.e., under age 12 years). The purpose of this paper is to propose a theoretical framework through which to investigate problematic media use in early childhood. Our theory, the Interactional Theory of Childhood Problematic Media Use (IT-CPU) merges developmental and clinical psychology theories, with communication and human-computer interaction perspectives. We outline distal and proximal factors that we hypothesize contribute to the development of problematic media use in childhood, and emphasize maintaining factors that could be targets for intervention. Finally, we provide recommendations for an interdisciplinary research agenda to test our proposed theory and inform experimental trials to prevent and treat childhood problematic media use.

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Crossref · 10.1002/hbe2.217

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  • When children and families engage with digital media that provide privacy, safety, and meaningful experiences, families can set better boundaries and children can exercise imagination, play, and social skills.

    “when children and families view or engage with digital media that provide privacy, safety, and meaningful experiences,12,13 families can set better boundaries around digital use and children can exercise their imagination, play, and social skills.14,15”

    From Digital Ecosystems, Children, and Adolescents: Technical Report (2026) · cites this paper as [14]

    The Proximal factors section says parental limit-setting and guidance can buffer against problematic media use, and Current digital media use in early-middle childhood acknowledges positive outcomes from prosocial, age-appropriate media. Neither passage says that media offering privacy, safety, and meaningful experiences helps families set boundaries or children exercise imagination, play, and social skills. Page numbers are unavailable in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.84)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Problematic internet use goes beyond the amount of time spent using digital media and also includes the quality of use and its impact on life functioning.

    “Overall, problematic internet use goes beyond the amount of time that is spent using digital media and also includes the quality of digital media use and impact on life functioning.14,323”

    From Digital Ecosystems, Children, and Adolescents: Technical Report (2026) · cites this paper as [14]

    The ‘Problematic Media Use in Early-Middle Childhood’ section says screen-time hours alone should not determine problematic use and defines it by interference with a child’s functioning. The ‘Current Digital Media Use’ section also distinguishes benign, age-appropriate use from inappropriate use. The cited paper, however, addresses children’s screen-media use, not problematic internet use generally, so the citing sentence extends its scope. (LLM, conf=0.82)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Persuasive digital media that encourage prolonged use and capture attention make disengagement difficult.

    “When digital media are designed to be persuasive, encourage prolonged use, and capture users’ attention, disengagement can be difficult.14,61,62”

    From Digital Ecosystems, Children, and Adolescents: Technical Report (2026) · cites this paper as [14]

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Cites

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1 of the 79 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Research works printed but not linked: 7

  1. Bandura A (1999). Social cognitive theory of personality. In Pervin L & John O (Ed.), Handbook of personality (2nd ed., pp. 154– 196), New York: Guilford Publications. (Reprinted in D. Cervone & Y. Shoda [Eds.], The coherence of personality. New York: Guilford Press.).
  2. Bronfenbrenner U, & Morris PA (2006). The bioecological model of human development. In Damon W (Series Ed.) & Lerner RM (Vol Ed.), (Eds.) Handbook of child psychology: Vol. 1 theoretical models of human development (pp. 793– 828). New York, NY: John Riley & Sons.
  3. Common Sense Media (2018). Common Sense-and-SurveyMonkey-poll-parents on-YouTube-and-technology addiction. https://www.commonsensemedia.org/about-us/news/press-releases/commonsense-and-surveymonkey-poll-parents-on-youtube-and-technology
  4. Druin A (2008). Lifelong interactions designing online interactions: What kids want and what designers know. Interactions, 15(3), 42– 44.
  5. Hiniker A, Lee B, Kientz JA, Radesky J 2018. “ Let’s Play! Digital and Analog Play Between Preschoolers and Parents.” Proceedings of the 36th annual ACM conference on human factors in computing systems (CHI 18), 659: 1– 13.
  6. Meyer M, Schrier S, Weeks H, Radesky J. Exploring the Role of Digital Play in Child Development. Psychology Honors Thesis, University of Michigan 2020.
  7. World Health Organization. (2019). Guidelines on physical activity, sedentary behaviour and sleep for children under 5years of age, Geneva: World Health Organization. https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/311664 31091057

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Authors
Domoff, S. E., Borgen, A. L., & Radesky, J. S.
Affiliations
  • Central Michigan University (US)
  • University of Michigan (US)
ORCID
Venue
Human Behavior and Emerging Technologies
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2020-09-04
Volume
2
Issue
4
Pages
343-353
ISSN
2578-1863 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1002/hbe2.217
PMC
PMC9645666
OpenAlex
W3083716436
Cited by
220
References
79
Citations by year
2026: 69 · 2025: 50 · 2024: 44 · 2023: 27 · 2022: 23 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 1
FWCI
21.60
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Human Behavior and Emerging Technologies (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • Deep Blue (University of Michigan) (submittedVersion)
Funders
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (R21HD093944)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Education › Child Development and Digital Technology
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Impact of Technology on Adolescents
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Sexuality, Behavior, and Technology
Keywords
problematic media use, early childhood, mobile devices, prevention and treatment, human-computer interaction, child development, digital media use

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