Digital device usage and psychological well-being in the post-COVID-19 era: insights from a cross-sectional survey

Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated digital technology adoption worldwide, yet limited evidence links post-pandemic multi-purpose online behavior with health outcomes and psychological well-being (PWB) in a single, integrated analysis. This study examines how digital device usage, breadth of online activity and self-reported Health Complaints relate to PWB across pre-COVID, during-COVID, and post-2023 periods. A cross-sectional survey of 622 respondents (collected in two pooled recruitment waves: Wave 1, $$n{=}323$$ ; Wave 2, $$n{=}299$$ ) assessed device usage across three temporal periods, online purpose diversity, Health Complaints (12 indicators), and PWB (Ryff’s 18-item scale). Spearman correlations with permutation-based p -values and Benjamini–Hochberg FDR correction were used. Group comparisons employed permutation tests with Cohen’s d effect sizes and bootstrap 95% confidence intervals. K -means clustering ( $$k{=}3$$ ) identified behavioral segments. PWB was negatively associated with Health Complaints count ( $$\rho =-0.319$$ , $$p_{\text {FDR}}<0.05$$ ). Broader online purpose use correlated with more health effects ( $$\rho =0.202$$ , $$p_{\text {FDR}}<0.05$$ ). High online-purpose users (top quartile) reported significantly more Health Complaints than low users ( $$\Delta =+1.55$$ , $$d=0.54$$ , $$p_{\text {FDR}}<0.001$$ ). A partial Spearman correlation confirmed that this association persisted after controlling for total screen time ( $$\rho _{\text {partial}}{=}0.154$$ , $$p_{\text {perm}}{<}0.001$$ , 95% CI [0.07, 0.23]), though the effect size was modest. Retrospective group-level estimates were higher for the during-COVID period than the pre-COVID baseline, with a lower estimate in Wave 2; these reflect between-wave, not within-person, comparisons. Three behavioral clusters emerged: low-usage/minimal-effects ( $$n{=}142$$ ), high multi-device users ( $$n{=}291$$ ), and higher health-effects/lower-PWB users ( $$n{=}189$$ ). Among young, educated, urban adults, breadth of online activity was cross-sectionally associated with more self-reported adverse Health Complaints; both factors independently and collectively accounted for significant variance in PWB. These findings highlight the urgent need for digital wellness strategies that address activity diversity — not only total screen time — among young, educated, urban adults who represent the heaviest users of multi-purpose internet services in post-pandemic settings.