From screen time to cyberdiseases: a systematic scoping review of health outcomes from digital technology exposure, 2019–2024

Abstract Digital technologies are integral to daily life, with individuals spending substantial time in digital environments. Evidence increasingly links this exposure to adverse health outcomes, but research remains fragmented and relies largely on “screen time” as a crude proxy. The full spectrum of these health outcomes and the metrics needed to assess them remain poorly defined. In this systematic scoping review of 389 studies, we mapped reported associations between digital exposure and health outcomes spanning across mental, behavioural, visual, musculoskeletal, and metabolic systems, which we conceptualise as ‘cyber-diseases’. Screen time, assessed in 83% of clinical studies, was the most commonly used exposure metric but is likely an inadequate proxy. These findings highlight gaps in the conceptualisation and measurement of digital exposure. Based on these findings, we propose, as a possible direction for future work, a multi-dimensional digital biomarker framework—encompassing exposure time, device type, interaction mode, and content.