Methodological and Conceptual Issues in Digital Media Research

Digital media are significant developmental contexts of families, peer groups, and schools, and it is important to investigate their impact on adolescent well-being and mental health. This introductory chapter overviews the terms and history of research on adolescent digital media use and psychological well-being and mental health and describes methodological and conceptual issues confronting researchers investigating this topic. We highlight two themes: (1) Changes in technology are inevitable; consequently, researchers need to be flexible in their methodological approaches to investigate the short- and long-term implications of youths’ social media use. (2) Researchers must clearly articulate how they conceptualize and operationalize digital media, its role, usage, and pathways of influence. The chapter presents ways researchers can adapt to the methodological challenges and clarify how they should innovate when conceptualizing and measuring adolescents’ digital media use. We encourage researchers to expand on our suggestions as they investigate social media in adolescents’ lives.