Digital media are part of everyday life. They enable contact, information, entertainment and professional participation. Their use becomes problematic not solely due to many hours in front of a screen, but above all when control is lost, other areas of life permanently take a back seat and use is continued despite noticeable disadvantages.

What does problematic media use mean?

The term encompasses various digital activities, such as gaming, social networks, messaging, streaming, online pornography or online shopping. Not every intensive use is an addiction. Anyone who works on the computer for a long time professionally or plays a lot for a time therefore does not yet meet the criteria for a mental disorder.

From a professional perspective, terms such as problematic use, internet use disorders or media-related behavioural addictions are used. The World Health Organisation lists gaming disorder as a distinct clinical condition in the ICD-11. Crucial factors are impaired control, increasing priority given to gaming, and continuation despite negative consequences. The pattern must lead to significant impairment in personal, family, social, educational or occupational life.

Social networks, pornography, streaming and shopping can also be used in an addictive manner. However, the scientific and diagnostic classification varies in its level of development depending on the form of use. Self-diagnosis based on individual characteristics is therefore inadequate.

Which warning signs can indicate a problem?

A single sign does not yet prove addiction. If several changes occur over a longer period, a professional assessment can be useful.

Problematic media use does not only affect teenagers or Generation Z. Adults can also fall into a stressful pattern, for example during phases of loneliness, professional overload, relationship crises, pain or mental illness.

Why can digital usage become so difficult to control?

Digital offerings are quickly available and deliver rewards at short intervals: new messages, reactions, game wins, interesting videos, or sexual stimuli. Many applications are designed in such a way that the next piece of content follows without a conscious decision. This can reinforce habits.

Reward learning, dopamine and addiction memory

Dopamine is involved in motivation, anticipation and learning processes within the reward system. With repeated use, the brain can learn to associate certain cues, such as a notification, a game icon, a time of day or an unpleasant feeling, with the expected reward or relief. Such stimuli can later trigger a strong craving even before the actual use. In everyday language, this learned connection is often referred to as an „addiction memory“.

Behavioural addictions and substance-related dependencies overlap, among other things in reward learning, cue reactivity, craving and declining control. However, they are not identical in every respect. Furthermore, the phrasing that digital media simply „flood the brain with dopamine“ would be too sweeping: what is decisive is the interplay of learning processes, individual preconditions, the situation, the specific offering and repeated reinforcement.

Addiction transfer can occur when a problematic behaviour is stopped, but its underlying function remains. For example, instead of gaming, social media, shopping, gambling or a substance may increasingly be used. This does not necessarily happen. In therapy, therefore, it is important not only to reduce the visible behaviour, but also to include triggers, needs, co-occurring disorders and alternative coping strategies.

Often, the usage fulfils a psychological function at the same time. It can provide short-term distraction from worries, unpleasant feelings, conflicts or inner emptiness. Gaming can foster a sense of competence and belonging, social media can promise recognition or connection, and streaming can create a sense of calm. Initially, these effects are understandable. It becomes problematic when digital usage becomes the predominant or sole strategy for dealing with stress.

Co-occurring symptoms such as depression, anxiety, ADHD, sleep problems, compulsions, or other dependencies can play a role. The direction of this relationship is not always clear: psychological distress can encourage intensive media use, while a dysregulated usage pattern can exacerbate existing problems.

What do current figures from Germany show?

The annual JIM study describes the media habits of 12- to 19-year-olds in Germany. For 2025, it found an average daily smartphone screen time of just under four hours. Around 30 percent of respondents reported frequently feeling tired in the mornings because they put their smartphones away too late at night. These figures initially describe habits and potential consequences. They are not diagnoses.

The DAK-UKE longitudinal study has been investigating risky and pathological usage patterns among 10- to 17-year-olds since 2019. In the analysis of the autumn 2025 survey wave, published in 2026, more than a quarter of children and adolescents showed problematic patterns in their use of social media. 6.6 per cent were classified as pathological. Risky and pathological patterns also increased in video streaming. The results underline the need for early perception and support, but cannot be applied across the board to adults.

What does research say about social media and mental health?

The psychologist Jean Twenge has described links in large datasets between intensive digital media use and lower psychological well-being among adolescents. Her work has significantly shaped the public and scientific debate.

For a balanced assessment, it is nevertheless important: a statistical correlation does not automatically prove that social media is the sole cause of psychological distress. Reviews point to on average rather small negative correlations and emphasise that the type of use, content, personal preconditions, life situation and platform design play a role. For an individual assessment, therefore, the daily duration of use is not sufficient.

What can help with a change?

Radical bans are not sensible for everyone and are often difficult to implement in everyday digital life. A more helpful first step is a realistic look at one's own pattern:

• Document usage times and typical triggers over a few days,
• testing notification-free periods and clearly defined usage windows,
• Remove smartphones, consoles or laptops from sleeping and resting areas,
• disable autoplay and unnecessary notifications,
• build alternative options for contact, relaxation, activity and reward,
• View relapses not as personal failure, but as an indication of triggers.

If your own modifications do not work or your everyday life is already significantly impaired, addiction counselling, medical assessment or psychotherapy can help. At the beginning of therapy, there is a detailed medical history. This involves examining not only the duration of use and content, but also the living situation, triggers, functions of use, co-morbidities, resources and personal goals.

In my private practice in Bad Schwalbach, I offer psychotherapy appointments both in person and online. Together, we can determine whether there is problematic media use and which approach is best suited to your individual situation.