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In the age of digital technology, as teens seem to be constantly connected online, via social media, and through mobile applications, it is no surprise that they increasingly turn to digital media to answer their health questions. This study is the first of its kind to survey a large, nationally-representative sample of teens to investigate how they use the newest digital technologies, including mobile apps, social networking sites, electronic gaming and wearable devices, to explore health topics. The survey covered the types of health topics teens most frequently search for, which technologies they are most likely to use and how they use them, and whether they report having changed their behaviors due to digital health information. In addition, this survey explores how the digital divide continues to impact adolescents. Results of this study indicate that teens are concerned about many health issues, ranging from fitness, sexual activity, drugs, hygiene as well as mental health and stress. As teens virtually always have a digital device at their fingertips, it is clear that public health interventions and informational campaigns must be tailored to reflect the ways that teens currently navigate digital health information and the health challenges that concern them most.

We conducted a systematic, in-depth literature review to examine the research around digital technology and media technologies for young children. We were particularly interested in understanding the range of research designs and specifics about elements of the method employed for researching digital technologies with young children (i.e., birth to 5 years). We focused precisely on this age group because it overlaps with the early childhood education period, and recent policy statements that focus on technology usage in young children and offer varying recommendations for children whose chronological age falls in the first five years of life. We completed a detailed analysis of 60 studies published 2011 to 2015; our synthesis focused on describing the research designs, and several specifics of the research method in each primary source: child demographics, the materials used in the research tasks, and the social and cognitive nature of tasks that children engaged in throughout each empirical study. Our findings provide insight for a framework that captures the complex interplay between child development, learning, lived experiences, and social contexts that surround the use of digital technologies.