Digital engagement and youth: a scoping review of opportunities, risks, and the role of socioeconomic resources

The rapid expansion of digital technologies has created both opportunities and risks for young people. Previous research shows that their digital engagement is often driven by educational or informational needs, social interaction, and entertainment. However, many practitioners and scholars warn of youth-specific risks. Moreover, pre-existing socioeconomic advantages shape not only access but also young people’s digital motivation, mastery, and patterns of engagement. Adopting an inclusive approach that encompasses a wide range of methodologies, we conduct a scoping review to explore the impact of digital engagement on young people's life outcomes, with a particular focus on the role of socioeconomic resources. We selected relevant studies from a systematic search of the Web of Science, PsycINFO, and the International Bibliography of the Social Sciences. We then categorized the empirical evidence based on its relevance to our topic and analyzed each study's results, determining whether it showed benefit or harm based on the observed direction of the effect. Findings from 57 empirical studies suggest that digital activities are not inherently harmful or beneficial but depend on the specific task in focus and the domain of life outcomes considered. While digital engagement tends to have a positive impact on academic outcomes, its effects on wellbeing are mixed. Socioeconomic resources generally give young people an additional advantage in using digital devices and activities for more positive life outcomes and in balancing online opportunities and risks. However, more research is needed to analyze the channels through which this advantage is realized.

数字技术的迅猛发展为青少年群体既创造了机遇，也带来了风险。此前研究表明，青少年的数字参与行为（digital engagement）往往受教育或信息需求、社交互动以及娱乐需求所驱动。然而，诸多从业者与学者均警示了专属于青少年群体的特定数字风险。此外，既有的社会经济优势不仅影响青少年的数字资源获取渠道，更塑造了其数字参与动机、技能掌握程度与参与模式。本研究采用涵盖多元研究方法的包容性研究框架，开展范围综述（scoping review），旨在探究数字参与行为对青少年生活结局的影响，并重点关注社会经济资源所发挥的作用。研究团队通过对科学网（Web of Science）、心理学文摘数据库（PsycINFO）以及国际社会科学文摘数据库（International Bibliography of the Social Sciences）进行系统性检索，筛选出相关研究文献。随后，依据文献与本研究主题的相关性对实证证据进行分类，并逐一分析各项研究的结果，基于观测到的效应方向判断其研究结论指向收益还是损害。对57项实证研究的分析结果表明，数字活动本身并无固有利弊，其影响取决于所聚焦的具体任务类型以及所考察的生活结局领域。尽管数字参与行为通常对学业结局产生积极影响，但其对青少年心理健康福祉的影响则呈现混合态势。总体而言，社会经济资源能够为青少年带来额外优势，使其可借助数字设备与数字活动获取更积极的生活结局，并更好地平衡线上机遇与风险。不过，仍需开展更多研究以剖析这一优势得以实现的具体路径。