Do we need a concept for the overwhelming influence on health of the new technologies? The Digital Determinants of Health proposal

Abstract By acknowledging the pervasive effects of New Information and Communication Technologies (NICTs) in contemporary life, this paper reports on the experience and dilemmas of a reflection group on the following question: does the overwhelming and pervasive use of technologies in everyday life, and consequently in health, deserve its own concept for analytical and socio-political prominence? Using Holliday’s systematization, the group proposed the concept of Digital Determinants of Health (DDH) due to the need to strongly highlight the action of NICTs in health - both from an epistemological and socio-political point of view. With the suggestion of the concept of DDH, we urge the academic community to engage in a specific debate on the consequences of NICTs in everyday life in order to guide actions capable of mitigating the negative effects and enhancing the benefits of new technologies in health.