Future Directions

As digital technology development continues to expand, both its positive and negative applications have also grown. As such, it is essential to continue gathering data on the many types of digital technologies, their overall effects, and their impact on public health. The World Health Organization’s inclusion of Gaming Disorder in the eleventh edition of the International Classification of Disease (ICD-11) indicates that some of the problematic effects of gaming are similar to those of substance-use disorders and gambling. Certain behaviors easily engaged in via the internet may also lead to compulsive levels of use in certain users, such as shopping or pornography use. In contrast, digital technologies can also lead to improvements in and wider accessibility to mental health treatments. Furthermore, various types of digital technologies can also lead to benefits such as increased productivity or social functioning. By more effectively understanding the impacts of all types of digital technologies, we can aim to maximize their benefits while minimizing or preventing their negative impacts.

Epidemiology of Technology Use and Mental Health in the United States

Advancements in technologies and their mass-scale adoption throughout the United States create rapid changes in how people interact with the environment and each other and how they live and work. As technologies become commonplace in society through increased availability and affordability, several problems may emerge, including disparate use among groups, which creates divides in attainment of the beneficial aspects of a technology’s use and coinciding mental health issues. This chapter briefly overviews new technologies and associated emerging applications in information communication technologies, social media networks, video games and massively multiplayer online role-playing games, and online gambling, then examines the prevalence of use among the general population and its subgroups and further discusses potential links between mental health issues associated with each technology and implications of overuse.

Multicultural Considerations in Telepsychology

Although an expanding body of research demonstrates the potential benefits of telepsychology, little is known about its application with ethnoracial minority populations. Research with ethnoracial minority populations points to various factors that predict positive treatment outcomes; thus, it should be considered in multiculturally sensitive telepsychology practice. In this chapter, the authors discuss the multicultural telepsychology literature and provide recommendations for practice and research. The respective literature in multicultural psychology and telepsychology and their intersection suggest that multicultural telepsychology offers substantial promise for improving the lives of vulnerable and underserved ethnoracial minority populations by increasing access to health information and mental health treatment and reducing mental illness stigma. The chapter ends by discussing potentially fruitful avenues for research.

The Promise and Problem of E-Assessment

There has been an explosion in the development of electronic methods for psychological assessment. These include use of handheld devices, desktop computers, and platform-based Internet methods. This development has occurred separately in the commercial environment and in the research environment. This development of new methods presents great promise to improve the accuracy, ecological validity, and range of constructs in psychological assessment. However there are also many problems involved in the development of these electronic methods, including the need to train clinicians in their use, the need to develop safeguards for privacy, and the need to develop methods to ensure the integrity of the data collected. This chapter outlines some of the main considerations in moving forward.

Texting While Driving and Other Use of Digital Technology Leading to Distraction and Risk

Advances in technology have dramatically influenced and changed the world of transportation in countless way. While many improvements have been realized with the help of technology in this area, negative consequences, like distracted driving, continue to be formidable challenges to the public’s safety and health. Studies have demonstrated that mobile phones, built-in navigation systems, and other in-vehicle–related entertainment/information technology (infotainment) have contributed to distracted driving, leading to increased morbidity and mortality, especially among the youth. Today, the ubiquitous use of mobile phones while driving has led to major increases of distracted driving, with some attribution to injury and fatal crashes, particularly among young drivers.

Digital Technologies and Sex

The Internet has revolutionized the way in which we consume and participate in sexual activities. Digital technologies are shaping the ways in which people interact with one another romantically and sexually. This chapter reviews some of the ways in which digital technologies are potentially shaping sexual behaviors, especially those of adolescents and young adults. Evidence suggests that technologies are facilitating increasingly more sexual activities among young people and adults, yet our understanding of these remains incomplete. The Internet has made pornography highly accessible to most individuals around the world, but the effects of frequent pornography use on individuals’ sexual beliefs and practices remain largely unknown. Sexting is also common among adolescents and adults, with some initial evidence finding that sexting was a partial mediator between problematic alcohol use and sexual hookups. More work on sexting behaviors is needed, particularly among vulnerable populations or groups at risk for exploitation. The wide use of smartphone applications designed to help users find casual sex partners are becoming more common, mirroring the increasing acceptability of having relationally uncommitted sex among young adults. More research is needed to investigate the influences of digital technologies on shaping the sexual practices of adolescents and emerging adults who may be spending increasingly more time online. Furthermore, more research is needed to examine both the potential benefits and risks associated with digital technologies that may facilitate sexual behaviors.

A History and Overview of Video Game Addiction

The past decade has witnessed a significant increase in the number of empirical studies examining various aspects of problematic video game play, video game addiction, and, more recently, gaming disorder. This chapter begins with a brief past history of how research into video game addiction has developed during the past four decades in the 1980s (arcade video game addiction), 1990s (home console video game addiction), and 2000s and beyond (online video game addiction). The chapter also overviews the features of gaming addiction, its prevalence rates, demographics and gaming addiction, negative consequences of excessive video game use, Internet gaming disorder and the DSM-5, and treatment of gaming addiction. Based on the published evidence, particularly from studies conducted in the past decade, it appears that, in extreme cases, excessive gaming can have potentially damaging effects on individuals who appear to display compulsive and/or addictive behavior similar to other more traditional addictions. However, the field has been hindered by the use of inconsistent and nonstandardized criteria to assess and identify problematic and/or addictive video game use.

Youth and Technology

Use of the Internet for interpersonal communication has dramatically altered the lives of youth. Awareness of the unique properties of this style of communication has given rise to both concern and optimism about its developmental consequences. Current findings suggest that the Internet may act to supplement offline relationships and offer some utility to socially anxious youth, with relatively limited evidence for adverse effects on psychological well-being. However, there continue to be concerns about how Internet-mediated communication may affect certain vulnerable groups. In addition, although this technology may provide a new platform for sharing of information, current data points to negative consequences for overall academic performance. Further study is indicated given the complexity of this area.

An Overview of Prevention and Intervention Work in Hong Kong on Health Problems Relating to Internet Use

The Internet is this era’s most important new tool, allowing people to accomplish different tasks anytime, anywhere. Users are spending more time online, and the age at which children begin using Internet is becoming younger. Like many useful tools, before we can make the most benefit of it, we must avoid the dangers and risks brought on by its improper use. Young children, who use the Internet for entertainment, learning, and communicating with others, rely on parents and teachers to guide them in healthy Internet use and to execute control to prevent them from misusing it. This chapter summarizes the work of relevant government departments, nongovernmental organizations, and other institutions in Hong Kong to create a supportive environment for healthy use of the Internet and to tackle health problems relating to its use. These approaches range from education and health promotion to case identification and management of those suffering from harm. Results of these efforts allow the younger generation to make the best use of and gain the maximum benefit from Internet use.

Digitally Assisted Interventions for the Treatment and Prevention of Risky Behavior in Adults

To have a significant and sustainable impact on attaining and maintaining healthy behaviors, the Transtheoretical Model of Behavior Change addresses the needs of entire populations, not just the minority who are motivated to take immediate action for better health. The six stages of change are outlined as well as the 10 processes of change or strategies to progress from one stage to the next. Digitally assisted interventions tailored to specific stages of change allow programs supported by computer-based tools and methodologies to be interactive and individualized for treatment and prevention of entire populations with risk behaviors like smoking, inactivity, unhealthy diets, alcohol misuse, and ineffectively managed stress. Digitally assisted interventions include mobile phones, personal digital assistants, smartphones, portable media players, tablets, and smart books. The devices have a range of functions from mobile cellular communication using text messages, photos and videos, telephone, and worldwide web access to multimedia playback and software application support. They allow temporal synchronization of the intervention delivery and allow the intervention to engage people’s attention when it is most relevant. The chapter presents examples of transtheoretical, digitally assisted interventions for use by both clients and coaches. Evidence is presented that compares the effectiveness of the digital programs.