Digital overuse and sleep effects on adolescent wellbeing and academic performance

Abstract

Background: Overuse of digital media and insufficient sleep have commonly been suggested to adversely affect adolescent mental health and academic achievement, but evidence regarding time-based measures remains inconsistent.

Objective: To explore associations between digital overuse and sleep, and investigate sleep as a mediator between digital overuse and psycho-academic outcomes (stress, anxiety, addiction, GPA) among adolescents.

Methods: A quantitative correlational design used secondary data from a Kaggle dataset on adolescent mental health (ages 13–19, N = 1200). Variables included daily social media use, pre-bed screen time, sleep duration, GPA, stress, anxiety, and addiction scores. Hypothesized relationships and mediation pathways were tested using Pearson correlation, multiple linear regression, and structural equation modelling (SEM).

Results: Participants averaged 4.54 hours (SD = 2.03) on social media daily, 1.74 hours (SD = 0.72) viewing screens before bed, and 6.45 hours (SD = 1.44) sleeping—below the recommended 7–9 hours. Mean GPA was 2.99 (SD = 0.58), with moderate stress (M = 5.45), anxiety (M = 5.64), and addiction (M = 5.57) scores. Correlations between digital overuse and psychological outcomes were very weak (r = 0.028–0.031, p > 0.05). Regression models explained under 0.2% of variance, and sleep did not significantly predict GPA (r = 0.022, p = 0.449). SEM mediation effects (β = −0.00001 to 0.00002) were non-significant, though directionally consistent with theory.

Conclusion: No statistical support was found for the theorized digital overuse–sleep–wellbeing/academic pathway, suggesting duration-based measures inadequately capture compulsive-use and sleep-quality dimensions considered more clinically relevant. Screening and policy should shift toward validated tools assessing compulsive use and sleep quality, alongside continued emphasis on adolescent sleep health.