The digital environment, from social media to AI-driven platforms, is a documented risk to the mental health of children and adolescents in Europe – but countries can already work to protect them. That’s the overarching conclusion in a new policy brief developed by the World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe, together with the Polish Ministry of Health and Digital Transformations for Health Lab (DTH-Lab).
The policy brief, titled “Addressing the Digital Determinants of Youth Mental Health,” combines a review of current evidence and policies with a call for governments, industry, and civil society to take immediate action to make digital spaces safer, healthier, and more equitable for young people.
“Young people’s mental health is being shaped by digital spaces just as much as by schools or families—but without the same protections,” said Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge. “As digital platforms increasingly shape the lives of our youth, we must ensure they are also protecting their mental health—not harming it. We are calling on governments, industry, and communities to step up and create digital environments that nurture, rather than neglect, the well-being of our youngest generations. This requires coordinated action – from improving youth digital literacy to stronger regulation of digital platforms to supporting youth-led digital design and governance. Our children and young people deserve to be protected from potential digital harms.”
Key findings
- Technology-use affects youth mental health in complex and contradictory ways—with both positive and harmful outcomes.
- Experiencing offline risks and vulnerabilities due to an existing mental health condition, being part of a marginalized group, or based on their gender, makes young people more likely to be impacted by online risks.
- Exposure to cyberbullying, unrealistic body standards, self-harm content, and harmful marketing is widespread and under-regulated.
- Data governance and algorithm-driven platforms amplify risks, often without transparency or youth consent.
- Many national policies place the burden of safety on parents and children, while industry accountability and youth participation remain limited.
No consensus on who is responsible
One of the key findings of an analysis of national policies from 42 countries, as well as EU-level regulatory frameworks, indicated that while action is being taken, there is little consensus on who should take responsibility.
Some countries, like Azerbaijan, Italy and Spain, put emphasis on parental controls, whereas others, like Croatia and Germany, have put age-labelling into regulatory frameworks. Still others, including France, Ireland and the United Kingdom, focus on holding social media and digital platforms accountable.
Although policy is proliferating, the mapping found that young people and the health sector are rarely consulted in the development of those policies.
“We need to adopt polices and regulations that are targeted, enforceable and informed by evidence,” says Natasha Azzopardi Muscat, Director of Division of Country Health Policies and Systems at WHO Regional Office for Europe. “And importantly, ensuring young people participate in shaping these development will allow countries to create policies that actually have impact, because they fit young people’s needs and preferences.”
The report also invokes the precautionary principle, urging governments to shift the burden of proof from proving harm to proving safety.
“Our review of the latest evidence on children’s technology use and mental health outcomes reinforces the presence of multiple online risks,” says Ilona Kickbusch, the Director of DTH-Lab. “While not all young people are impacted in the same way, there are clearly features of social media and other platforms that have been designed to put profit ahead of young people’s well-being. Creating safe and healthy online environments, and protecting young people from digital harms, must be urgent public health priorities for all countries. Young people’s online experiences are now an important determinant of their health and we have a collective responsibility to ensure these experiences are positive ones.”
WHO/Europe is calling on countries to prioritize eight urgent policy actions:
- Making digital well-being a national public health priority.
- Regulating platform design to limit addictive and harmful features.
- Empowering health workers to guide safe tech use.
- Supporting youth-led digital governance.
- Increasing investment in offline alternatives to screen-based entertainment.
- Applying proven, intersectoral public health strategies to improve digital well-being.
- Developing clear guidance on digital well-being and healthy technology use.
- Holding industry and commercial interests to account
“In today’s digital world, we must find a balance between the benefits of technology and its impact on the mental health of the younger generation. This is a new challenge for all EU member states,” said Deputy Minister of Health Katarzyna Kacperczyk, speaking at an international meeting on youth mental health and digitalization hosted by Poland under the Polish Presidency of the European Council this past 7 May.
Young people in Europe agree. Catalina Popoviciu of Romania, has a fitting metaphor for striking this balance: “Social media is like a car: it can take you from point A to point B, it can take you from isolation to connection, but we need the instruction manual, the seatbelt, and a clear understanding of the driving rules and speed limits to ensure we drive responsibly and safely.”
Check out the WHO Policy Brief here
Aferdita Bytyqi is the Executive Director of the DTH-Lab ensuring the success of overall project goals and strategic objectives of the DTH-Lab both internally and with key external stakeholders within the global health ecosystem.
Discover more about DTH-Lab:
DTH-Lab is a global consortium of partners working to drive implementation of The Lancet and Financial Times Commission on Governing Health Futures 2030’s recommendations for value-based digital transformations for health co-created with young people.
