A bibliometric analysis of research on child development and digital addiction

Abstract

This bibliometric analysis examined 223 articles on digital addiction and child development indexed in the Web of Science database. The first study was published in 2013, but a noticeable increase in publications has occurred only recently, with an annual average of 77 articles until 2025. The literature exhibits a balanced and collaborative production structure, with Turkey emerging as the most productive country (118 publications), followed by the United States (27) and China (20). Akdeniz University was the most productive institution with seven publications. Research predominantly clusters within mental health, psychology, and education disciplines, with psychiatry (13.90%) and psychology (13.45%) forming the core. Bibliographic coupling analysis revealed five interrelated clusters, indicating thematic differentiation anchored in a shared citation base. Keyword analysis identified five clusters, with dominant themes including addiction-related outcomes, various forms of digital addiction in children, mental health, developmental processes, and age-based categorizations. The study highlights the need for integrative research approaches and international collaboration to address gaps in the literature. Limitations include the use of a single database and the restricted depth of content analysis. Future research should incorporate different databases, conduct longitudinal and multidisciplinary studies, and evaluate the effectiveness of intervention and preventive programs.

Introduction

The interrelationship between addiction and societal structures is profound, with addiction exerting significant influence on individuals, families, communities, and broader societal frameworks. Substance and alcohol use disorders impose substantial health and economic burdens, affecting not only the individuals involved but also their families and communities at large [1]. Recognizing this, addiction—particularly in its digital manifestations—should no longer be viewed solely as an individual pathology but rather as a multidimensional phenomenon shaped by environmental, developmental, and structural factors. Within this multidimensional context, a particularly salient and rapidly evolving concern is the proliferation of portable digital devices since the early 2000s, evolving rapidly to provide access to digital media without temporal or spatial limitations [2]. While this accessibility offers notable benefits, it also presents serious risks, particularly when the primary users are children [3]. Online and offline gaming functionalities available on smartphones and tablets constitute a substantial component of children’s daily routines across various age groups [4]. While organizations like the World Health Organization recognize ‘gaming disorder,’ this classification’s narrow scope excluding pervasive non-gaming digital behaviors such as social media use highlights a significant unmet need for research that systematically examines the full spectrum of digital addiction in children. The absence of a unified definitional and diagnostic framework across various digital modalities creates challenges for comparative research and the development of comprehensive public health strategies [5]. To address this critical public health concern effectively, it is imperative to examine digital addiction from a developmental perspective, as children spend a substantial proportion of their daily lives interacting with digital devices from early childhood onward, a pattern that may adversely affect developmental outcomes [6]. Excessive digital engagement during early childhood and childhood—critical periods for brain development has been associated with later addictive behaviors in adolescence and adulthood [7]. Consequently, these patterns pose risks across multiple developmental domains, including physical health [8], socioemotional development, and overall child well-being [9]. Reflecting these converging risks, research on addiction has expanded rapidly at both national and international levels, with internet- and technology-related addictions emerging among the most frequently examined forms [10].Building on this expanding body of research, it becomes evident that digital addiction—similar to other behavioral addictions—must be understood within a developmental framework. Addiction and child development are intricately linked through multiple pathways involving neurobiological processes, early life experiences, and the family environment. In particular, early childhood represents a sensitive developmental period during which environmental influences shape neural systems associated with reward processing, stress regulation, and attachment, all of which are central to addiction vulnerability [11].Research in developmental and clinical domains further substantiates that parental substance use disorders, particularly during gestation or the postpartum phase, can detrimentally affect maternal sensitivity and attachment, thereby adversely impacting children’s developmental trajectories[11]. Importantly, these developmental vulnerabilities extend beyond substance-related outcomes, fostering a broader predisposition to various addictive behaviors, including digital addiction. Children exposed to insecure attachment, neglect, or unresolved trauma may, in their search for regulation and reward, turn to readily accessible and highly stimulating digital environments that are ubiquitous in contemporary society, thereby heightening their risk of excessive and maladaptive digital media use.

Addiction is a multifaceted neurobiological disorder that involves brain circuits related to reward, motivation, decision-making, and stress regulation. It induces enduring alterations in neural networks and neurotransmitter systems, which facilitate compulsive substance use or behaviors. Genetic and environmental factors further influence individual susceptibility to addiction [12]. These neurobiological alterations may interact directly with the structural and design features of digital platforms, rendering children particularly sensitive to immediate rewards and constant reinforcement mechanisms, thus facilitating the development of digital addiction. Consistent with this developmental vulnerability framework, childhood maltreatment and trauma more prevalent in families affected by addiction have been associated with maladaptive outcomes in adolescence, including emotional difficulties, delinquent behaviors, and substance use [13]. Within contemporary digital environments, such early adverse experiences may also increase reliance on digital media as a coping strategy, reinforcing problematic usage patterns. Similarly, severe substance abuse in adulthood has been associated with histories of childhood abuse among low-income mothers, underscoring the cyclical and intergenerational nature of addiction and its implications for children’s developmental environments [14]. Despite the growing recognition of these developmental dynamics, the literature on digital addiction and child development remains fragmented across disciplines, methodologies, and geographical contexts. For instance, while individual studies address specific risk factors such as neurobiological vulnerabilities, family environments, or early adverse experiences, there is a notable lack of comprehensive synthesis regarding their interplay and relative contributions to digital addiction across different developmental stages. Similarly, the proliferation of diverse digital platforms (gaming, social media, general internet use) has led to varied conceptualizations and measurement approaches, leaving a critical gap in understanding how these different forms of digital engagement are studied in relation to child development, particularly in terms of their prevalence, impact, and proposed interventions within a unified framework. This fragmentation necessitates a systematic mapping of the field to identify these specific lacunae.

Given the rapid increase in children’s use of digital devices and the escalating concern regarding digital addiction as a developmental issue, a bibliometric analysis is particularly valuable for elucidating the evolution of scholarly attention to this topic and identifying which aspects of child development have been most thoroughly examined. Accordingly, by employing bibliometric techniques to synthesize existing literature, this study aims to provide a comprehensive overview of research trends, identify underexplored areas, and inform future research, policy development, and preventive interventions concerning digital addiction and child development.

Methods

Bibliometrics is an objective and quantitative analysis method that focuses on the external characteristics of the literature and is widely used to examine scientific data in order to identify trends, patterns, and changes within a selected research field. In this study, bibliometric analysis was employed to investigate relationships among thematic classifications, journal sources, geographic distribution, keyword usage, article topics, authorship, collaboration networks, and quantitative indicators such as citations [15]. The data were retrieved from the Web of Science (WoS) database, one of the most comprehensive and widely used scientific databases, covering more than 60 years of publications and millions of documents in the health and social sciences. WoS provides detailed research information, including authors, sources, cited references, keywords, and institutional affiliations, and has therefore been frequently utilized in bibliometric research [16]. To analyze and visualize bibliometric networks—such as bibliographic coupling, co-authorship, citation, and keyword co-occurrence networks—software tools including VOSviewer was used. VOSviewer, developed by the Centre for Science and Technology Studies at Leiden University, is particularly effective in mapping and visualizing complex bibliometric structures and revealing the intellectual and collaborative landscape of a research field [17]. Through these analytical procedures, bibliometric analysis enables a comprehensive understanding of the development, structure, and current status of the literature in the selected research domain.

Data source

A bibliometric analysis was conducted on January 6, 2026, to systematically examine the research field of digital addiction and child development using studies indexed in the Web of Science (WoS) database and analyzed with the VOSviewer visualization tool. To ensure the relevance and accuracy of the dataset, both authors independently screened and examined all retrieved records by reading the titles, abstracts, and full texts, where necessary. Any discrepancies were resolved through discussion and consensus agreement.

Eligibility criteria

Analysis was carried out using bibliometric information obtained from the Web of Science. The search strategy employed was digital addiction [Title] Or digital overuse [Title] and child development [Title]. The language was restricted to English to ensure a clear understanding of the relevance of the publications to the research topic. The document type was limited to research articles indexed in the Web of Science database. Inclusion criteria required that the studies be original research articles and that the keywords digital addiction or digital overuse and child development appear in the article titles.

Data extraction

Two articles were excluded during data cleaning. Exclusion occurred when studies did not meet the predefined inclusion criteria. One article was removed because its target population was not related to children or child development, and one article was excluded because it was a review paper rather than an original empirical study (Table 1).

Table 1.

Research process

Stage 1: Study design	Database selection	WOS (Web of science)
	Index selection	Subject-related field indexes
	Document type	Article
	Language selection	English
	Date	All years 2011–2025
	Keywords	Digital addiction or digital overuse and child development
	Result	223 academic research
Stage 2: Data preparation	Data extraction	Two studies were excluded: one due to an irrelevant target population (not related to children or child development) and one due to being a review article
Stage 3: Data analysis	Bibliometric analysis	Distribution of publication year Distribution of authors Distribution of countries Distribution universities Distribution of research areas Bibliographic coupling analysis Co citation analysis Key word analysis

Results

Building on the established methodological foundation, this study turns its attention to the findings of the bibliometric analysis. The analysis comprehensively examined the literature on digital addiction or excessive digital use in the context of child development, revealing research trends, collaboration networks among authors and institutions, as well as the impact of the most frequently cited studies in the field. This approach identifies key research focuses and how different dimensions of digital use in child development are shaped through bibliometric networks such as bibliographic coupling, co-authorship, and co-word analysis.

Description of the retrieved literature

The examined studies were analyzed in terms of publication trends over the years, productive authors, contributing countries and institutions, and research topics. The distribution of studies over time reflects changes in research interest, while author, country, and institution profiles indicate contributions and collaborations at both national and international levels. Research topics help identify the primary focus areas and the intensity of investigation within the field.

An analysis of the distribution of publications by year indicates a clear increase in the number of studies in recent years. As shown in Table 2, publication output remained relatively low between 2011 and 2019, with annual frequencies ranging from 1 to 8 articles. A more noticeable rise began after 2020. The number of publications increased from 18 articles in 2022 (8.07%) to 33 articles in 2023 (14.80) and 39 articles in 2024 (17.49%). The highest publication volume was observed in 2025, with 77 articles, accounting for 34.53% of the total sample. Overall, the findings demonstrate a marked concentration of publications in the most recent years (Table 2).

Table 2.

Distribution of studies by year

Year	Frequency	Percentage (%)
2025	77	34.529
2024	39	17.489
2023	33	14.798
2022	18	8.072
2020	11	4.933
2019	8	3.587
2021	8	3.587
2018	5	2.242
2017	4	1.794
2016	3	1.345
2014	2	0.897
2026	2	0.897
2011	1	0.448%
2013	1	0.448%

An examination of the most productive authors in the field revealed that Ali Raian, Mirko Duradoni, Andrea Guazzini, and Ayla Kaya were the most prolific authors, each contributing three articles. The equal contribution of these authors indicates a balanced distribution of individual productivity rather than dominance by a single researcher, reflecting collaborative and diversified authorship patterns within the field. An analysis of the distribution of articles by country showed that Turkey made the highest contribution with 118 publications, positioning it as the leading country in the field. The United States followed with 27 articles, while China contributed 20 articles. England and South Korea ranked next, with 14 and 11 publications, respectively. This distribution highlights Turkey’s central role in the academic output on the topic, alongside notable contributions from both Western and Asian countries, underscoring the international scope of the research area. An examination of institutional contributions revealed that Akdeniz University emerged as the most productive institution, contributing seven articles. İnönü University and the Ministry of National Education of Turkey also demonstrated significant contributions, each with six articles. Necmettin Erbakan University followed with five articles, while Dokuz Eylül University and the Egyptian Knowledge Bank (EKB) each contributed six articles. These findings illustrate the prominent role of Turkish universities and national institutions, alongside international platforms, in advancing research within the field (Table 3).

Table 3.

Distribution of authors, countries, and universities

Category	Author/country/university	Number of articles (frequency)
Author	Ali Raian	3
	Mirko Duradoni	3
	Andrea Guazzini	3
	Ayla Kaya	3
Country	Türkiye	118
	ABD	27
	Republic of China	20
	England	14
	South Korea	11
University	Akdeniz University	7
	Inonu University Ministry of National Education Turkey	7 6
	Necmettin Erbakan University Dokuz Eylul University	6 5
	Egyptian Knowledge Bank Ekb	6

Distribution of articles by research areas in the web of science database

The distribution of studies across research areas is outlined to offer an overview of the fields in which the included publications are classified and to illustrate how the research output is organized across different academic disciplines, as presented in Table 4.

Table 4.

Distribution of articles by research areas in the web of science database

The analysis of the top research areas revealed that Psychiatry was the most frequently studied field, with 31 articles (13.90%), closely followed by Psychology (Multidisciplinary) with 30 articles (13.45%). Education and Educational Research ranked third, contributing 25 articles (11.21%), while Nursing followed with 22 articles (9.87%). Public, Environmental, and Occupational Health ranked fifth, with 21 articles (9.42%). Together, these leading research areas demonstrate that scholarly work in the field is predominantly concentrated in mental health, psychology, and education-related disciplines, with a strong emphasis on health sciences. The presence of pediatrics (14 articles; 6.28%) and substance abuse (14 articles; 6.28%) further underscores the health-oriented nature of the research, while the inclusion of various psychology subfields (clinical, experimental, educational, social, and developmental) reflects the multidisciplinary structure of the literature.

Bibliometric methods

A bibliometric analysis, an informetric method, was employed to summarize existing knowledge, identify research gaps, and guide future studies. In this context, citation, co-citation, co-authorship, bibliographic coupling, and content co-occurrence analyses are among the most frequently used methods [18].

Bibliographic coupling analysis

The bibliographic coupling network structure and document relationships referenced in this section are illustrated in Fig. 1.

Fig. 1.

Bibliographic coupling analysis

The bibliographic coupling network consisted of 223 documents, with a citation threshold of 10, resulting in a total of 87 items grouped into five clusters. Examination of the network visualization revealed a highly interconnected and multidimensional structure, indicating strong bibliographic relationships among the documents. The clusters, represented by different colors, reflect thematic groupings based on shared citation patterns. Among these clusters, the green and blue clusters displayed noticeably denser connections compared to the others, suggesting stronger intellectual linkages and a higher degree of shared references within these groups. Several documents occupied central and influential positions in the network. In particular, [19]. “Self-traits and motivations as antecedents of digital media flow and addiction: The Internet, mobile phones, and video games” emerged as a prominent central node with extensive connections across multiple clusters, indicating its foundational role and strong influence within the literature. Other key documents, including Allcott [20] “Digital addiction” Berthon [21] “A public policy analysis of sources and solutions to digital addiction”, Wang [22] “The association between mobile game addiction and depression, social anxiety, and loneliness” and Bhagat [23]. “The Role of Individuals’ Need for Online Social Interactions and Interpersonal Incompetence in Digital Game Addiction” also functioned as significant nodes, demonstrating strong bibliographic coupling relationships and acting as bridges between clusters. The presence of these highly connected studies highlights their importance in shaping the intellectual structure of the field and facilitating cross-cluster integration of research themes.

Co citation sources

Co-citation analysis uses co-citation frequencies as a measure of similarity to examine relationships between different elements (e.g., journals) and contributes to revealing the intellectual structure of a field [24]. The visualization of the co-citation network supporting this analysis is presented in Fig. 2.

Fig. 2.

Co citation sources analysis

In this study, bibliographic coupling analysis was conducted using a minimum citation threshold of 20. Of the 5,333 sources, only 81 met this threshold, resulting in four clusters. The first cluster comprised 25 journals, including Archives of Psychiatric Nursing, Bağımlılık Dergisi, BMC Psychiatry, BMC Psychology, BMC Public Health, Child Development, Computers in Human Behavior Reports, Current Psychology, Frontiers in Psychiatry, and Frontiers in Psychology. These journals primarily focus on psychiatry, psychology, public health, and child development, indicating that the core literature within this cluster is strongly centered on mental health, behavioral sciences, and developmental perspectives related to digital behaviors.

Keyword analysis

Keyword analysis identifies the most frequently cited themes in line with the research objectives, while also revealing research clusters and trends, thereby enabling the visualization of intra- and interdisciplinary studies [25]. The corresponding keyword co-occurrence map illustrating these clusters is presented in Fig. 3.

Fig. 3.

Keyword analysis

According to the results of the keyword analysis, 650 keywords were examined, of which only 24 met the threshold value. An analysis of the 24 keywords resulted in the identification of five distinct clusters. The first cluster was dominated by frequently occurring concepts such as addiction, digital game addiction, loneliness, aggression, and nursing, indicating a strong focus on addiction-related outcomes and psychosocial factors. The second cluster comprised high-frequency terms including children, digital addiction, internet addiction, smartphone addiction, social media addiction, and technology addiction, reflecting the centrality of digital addiction and its various forms in child populations. The third cluster was characterized by recurrent keywords such as adolescents, mental health, digital game addiction, digital literacy, preschool children, and psychological resilience, highlighting the intersection of digital use with mental health and developmental factors across different age groups. The fourth cluster included the frequently occurring terms child and adolescent, emphasizing age-based classifications within the literature. Finally, the fifth cluster consisted of digital games and university students, representing research focusing on digital gaming behaviors in young adult populations.

Discussion

This bibliometric analysis examined 223 articles on digital addiction and child development indexed in the Web of Science database. The first study in this field was published in 2013, however, a noticeable increase in publication output has occurred only in recent years. Until 2025, the annual average number of publications remained at approximately 77 articles, suggesting that scholarly interest in digital addiction has intensified relatively recently rather than evolving steadily over time. This temporal pattern suggests that digital addiction has evolved from a peripheral research topic to a recognized issue of developmental and public health in recent years.

The noticeable increase in the number of publications in 2023 can be associated with various national policies and research incentive mechanisms. The amendments made in February 2023 to the implementation principles of the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK) UBYT Program which expanded the scope of incentives for publications indexed in Scopus and covered by ARDEB may have increased researchers’ motivation to publish [26]. Additionally, since 2023 marked the completion of the “2019–2023 National Action Plan for Combating Behavioral Addictions,” it is likely that the scientific projects supported during this process resulted in a concentration of outputs (publications) in that year [27]. Collectively, these findings indicate that policy frameworks and funding mechanisms are instrumental in influencing the temporal dynamics of knowledge production in this field. This temporal pattern reflects the growing recognition of digital addiction as a critical developmental and public health concern, particularly in relation to children and adolescents. Examining the distribution of authors, countries, and institutions shows that no single researcher, institution, or national context dominates this field. However, the literature exhibits a relatively balanced and collaborative production structure. The most prolific authors Ali Raian, Mirko Duradoni, Andrea Guazzini, and Ayla Kaya have each contributed to the field with three publications, indicating the absence of a central intellectual authority and, instead, a dispersed yet interconnected research community. One of the most noteworthy findings is Raian Ali’s prominence as a leading contributor to the literature. A closer look at Ali’s work reveals a consistent focus on Internet addiction among adolescents within relational and contextual frameworks. Previous studies have shown that problematic Internet use among adolescents is closely related to family related variables, including parents’ Internet use patterns, communication styles, and parental attitudes [28, 29]. Moreover, psychological states such as depression, anxiety, stress, and fatigue in adolescents interact with different patterns of Internet use, while family and school environments act as significant contextual moderators [30]. All these findings together point to a significant theoretical insight: digital addiction cannot be adequately conceptualized solely as an individual behavior; rather, it emerges from the dynamic interactions between the child or adolescent and their immediate social ecology. This synthesis provides strong support for family based, ecological, and context-sensitive intervention models [31]. This perspective critiques reductionist approaches that interpret digital addiction solely in terms of individual vulnerabilities or deficits in self-control. Instead, it emphasizes the developmental context in which problematic digital behavior is situated.

At the country level, Turkey emerged as the most productive contributor to the literature, with 118 publications, followed by the United States (27) and China (20). The United Kingdom and South Korea also stand out with 14 and 11 publications, respectively. While Turkey’s dominance in publication output is striking, this finding warrants careful interpretation. Rather than reflecting a purely academic trend, Turkey’s prominence appears to be shaped by broader contextual and structural factors. Empirical studies conducted in Turkey have predominantly focused on adolescents, a group identified as particularly vulnerable to digital addiction [32]. A comprehensive meta-analysis conducted in Turkey showedd that the prevalence ofInternett addictionwasas approximately 13%, and in some regions, this ratrosee to 17% [33]. Additionally, data from TurkStat indicate that daily usage times among adolescents aged 11–15 reach 4–5 h. [34]. When these prevalence figures are analyzed alongside national policy initiatives, the observed increase in publications becomes more comprehensible. The development of national frameworks, such as the “2019–2023 National Strategy Document for Combating Behavioral Addictions,” likely increased institutional awareness, funding opportunities, and scholarly engagement with this issue. Collectively, these contextual factors help explain why digital addiction has become a focal research topic within the Turkish academic landscape, while simultaneously contributing to the internationalization of the field through comparative and cross-cultural perspectives.

From an institutional perspective, Akdeniz University stands out as the most productive institution with seven publications, followed by İnönü University and the Turkish Ministry of National Education with six publications each. Necmettin Erbakan University contributed five publications, while Dokuz Eylül University and the Egyptian Knowledge Bank (EKB) also attracted attention with six publications each. This distribution highlights that the generation of knowledge in this domain is not confined to conventional academic institutions, rather, it is also influenced by national-level organizations and extensive knowledge infrastructure. These findings indicate that both universities and national-level institutions play a central role in shaping the research agenda on digital addiction and child development. The involvement of educational ministries and international knowledge platforms further suggests that the field extends beyond academic inquiry, intersecting with policy, educational practice, and large-scale data infrastructures.

The analysis reveals clustering around mental health, psychology, and education disciplines. Psychiatry (31 articles; 13.90%) and Psychology (30 articles; 13.45%) form the literature core, framing digital addiction as a mental health phenomenon. Education Research (25 articles; 11.21%) indicates interest in developmental and school-based perspectives. Nursing (22 articles; 9.87%) and Public Health (21 articles; 9.42%) contribute significantly. Pediatrics and Substance Abuse research (each 14 articles; 6.28%) highlight concerns about vulnerability and comorbidity. Research shows positive associations between digital addiction and adverse mental health outcomes, including depression, anxiety, and stress [35]. This pattern is not exclusive to the current dataset. A recent bibliometric visualization study by Xiao et al. similarly revealed that most research on children and digital environments has predominantly concentrated on mental health outcomes, whereas cognitive development has been relatively underexplored [36].

The findings of the literature confirm the multifactorial nature of digital addiction. While the extensive use of digital devices directly increases the risk of addiction [37], limited family interaction and socioeconomic variables stand out as significant environmental antecedents [38, 39]. In addition, it has been reported that psychological factors such as inadequate coping with stress, anxiety, and depression have a cyclical relationship with digital addiction, serving as both causes and consequences [37, 39]. The dominance of psychiatry and psychology suggests digital addiction is conceptualized as a mental health phenomenon aligned with internalizing symptoms. Collectively, these patterns underscore that digital addiction cannot be confined to a singular mental health construct. However, this health-centered framing risks oversimplifying digital media use. While social media overuse often correlates with psychological distress, one-to-one digital communication may reduce loneliness and stress [40]. Digital addiction cannot be equated with digital use, but reflects maladaptive patterns shaped by context and individual vulnerability. Education research emphasizes developmental timing and preventive strategies for youth. The presence of nursing, public health, and pediatrics research indicates concerns about early vulnerability and developmental risks. This aligns with findings that early childhood education and family support may protect against problematic digital use, suggesting interventions must extend beyond individual level.

The bibliographic coupling analysis reveals that research on digital addiction demonstrates a highly interconnected and multidimensional knowledge structure. The identification of five interrelated clusters indicates that the literature is thematically differentiated while being anchored in a shared citation base, reflecting an increasing theoretical convergence within the field. The denser coupling observed within the green and blue clusters suggests stronger intellectual cohesion in studies addressing the psychological, behavioral, and societal dimensions of digital addiction. Khang has emerged as a central and foundational reference, linking multiple clusters and contributing to the conceptual integration of the literatüre [19]. Similarly, Allcott, Berthon, Wang, and Bhagat have functioned as key bridging studies, facilitating cross-cluster and cross-disciplinary integration [20–23]. While these robust bibliographic linkages indicate growing coherence, the persistence of multiple clusters suggests that the field has not yet fully consolidated into a single, comprehensive theoretical framework, underscoring the need for more integrative research approaches.

The composition of the first bibliographic coupling cluster, which includes 25 journals primarily situated within psychiatry, psychology, public health, and child development, indicates that the intellectual core of digital addiction research is firmly grounded in mental health and developmental paradigms. Journals such as BMC Psychiatry, Frontiers in Psychiatry, Child Development, and BMC Public Health reflect a dominant emphasis on psychopathology, behavioral regulation, and developmental vulnerability in explaining digital addiction. This structural concentration is not merely methodological but conceptual, as it aligns closely with empirical evidence linking digital addiction to adverse mental health outcomes, including depression, anxiety, and stress [35]. Together, these patterns suggest that the field has largely framed digital addiction as a clinical and psychological phenomenon, particularly salient during childhood and adolescence.

Keyword analysis enables the identification of dominant research themes, emerging trends, and interdisciplinary linkages within a field [25]. In this study, a total of 650 keywords were examined, of which 24 met the threshold value, resulting in the identification of five distinct clusters, as visualized in Fig. 3. The first cluster was dominated by terms such as addiction, digital game addiction, loneliness, aggression, and nursing, indicating a strong emphasis on addiction-related outcomes and associated psychosocial factors. The second cluster included frequently occurring keywords such as children, digital addiction, internet addiction, smartphone addiction, social media addiction, and technology addiction, highlighting the central focus on various forms of digital addiction in child populations. The third cluster brought together terms including adolescents, mental health, digital literacy, psychological resilience, and preschool children, reflecting an integrative perspective that links digital use with mental health and developmental processes across different age groups. Consistent with this pattern, prior research has shown that internet addiction and mental health problems among adolescents increased during the COVID-19 period [41]. Within this cluster, the prominence of keywords related to scale development further indicates a growing methodological focus on measurement tools, particularly in studies involving children. The fourth cluster emphasized age-based categorizations through keywords such as child and adolescent, suggesting that developmental stage remains a primary organizing framework in the literature. Finally, the fifth cluster, characterized by terms such as digital games and university students, represents research concentrating on digital gaming behaviors among young adults. The differentiation of terms such as internet addiction and smartphone addiction across clusters supports the view that these subtypes represent distinct dimensions of digital addiction, warranting separate measurement and intervention approaches [42]. Overall, the keyword analysis reveals that current research on digital addiction is predominantly oriented toward children and adolescents, with particular attention to mental health outcomes and differentiated forms of digital addiction.

Limitations

This study is subject to several limitations. First, the analysis was restricted to the Web of Science database. Although WoS provides high-quality and widely cited publications, studies indexed in other databases (e.g., Scopus, PubMed, ERIC) or regional and non-English sources may have been excluded, potentially limiting the global and cultural representativeness of the findings. Future bibliometric studies could address this limitation by integrating multiple databases to capture a broader spectrum of research. Second, the search strategy relied on the keywords digital addiction and digital overuse in relation to child development. As the field employs diverse conceptual labels, relevant studies using alternative terminology may not have been identified. Expanding keyword frameworks in future research may help to better reflect the conceptual diversity of the literature.

Conclusions

The bibliometric analysis highlights a marked increase in scholarly attention to digital addiction within the context of child development since 2020, reflecting growing concerns regarding the pervasive role of digital technology in the lives of children. This surge in research is predominantly situated within health-related fields such as psychiatry, psychology, education, and public health, underscoring the interdisciplinary nature of the issue and the recognition of digital addiction as a significant public health challenge. The focus on these disciplines suggests an emphasis on understanding the psychological, behavioral, and social consequences of excessive digital engagement among children and adolescents, as well as the development of prevention and intervention strategies tailored to these vulnerable groups. Future research should include different databases and language groups, and conduct longitudinal and multidisciplinary studies. In particular, investigations that simultaneously address the biopsychosocial, cultural, and environmental dimensions of digital addiction during childhood and adolescence could significantly contribute to the literature. Examining different age groups, socioeconomic levels, and cultural contexts while integrating qualitative and quantitative methods to assess individual experiences and psychological effects may be beneficial. Furthermore, evaluating the effectiveness of intervention and preventive programs can support policy and educational strategies, and international collaboration is essential to address the gaps in the literature.

Author contributions

Sırma Seda BAPOĞLU (SSBD) and Ruhigül TURAN (RT) contributed to the study as follows: Conceptualization, SSBD; Methodology, SSBD and RT; Validation, SSBD and RT; Resources, SSBD and RT; Original draft preparation, SSBD; Writing, SSBD; Supervision, RT; Revision, SSBD. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Funding

This research received no external funding.

Data availability

The datasets generated and analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Declarations

Consent for publication

Not applicable. This study did not include any individual person’s data.

Clinical trial number

Not applicable.

Ethics approval and consent to participate

This study used only secondary data (bibliometric records) and did not involve human participants; therefore, ethics approval and consent were not required.

Conflict of interest

The authors have no conflict of interest to disclose.