Digital Health and Well-Being: Navigating Risks and Building Resilience

Dear Colleagues,

Digital technologies have profoundly restructured the daily architecture of human behavior, creating environments of perpetual connectivity and constant stimulation. From algorithmic feeds to notification streams, our cognitive and emotional systems are subjected to unprecedented demands, challenging self-regulatory capacities and reshaping fundamental habits related to attention, rest, and social interaction. This behavioral paradigm shift is intrinsically linked to public health, as evidenced by growing research on its association with attentional fragmentation, stress dysregulation, sleep disruption, and altered reward processing. Consequently, understanding and mitigating the impacts of constant stimulation has become a critical frontier for behavioral science, necessitating a shift from mere descriptive study to the design of interventions that promote sustainable digital habits and resilient mindsets. Digital well-being, from this perspective, is not just an outcome but a dynamic behavioral skill to be cultivated in the face of engineered environments that ceaselessly compete for our mental resources.

We welcome conceptual, empirical, and methodological papers that address, but are not limited to, the following themes:

1. Mechanisms and Outcomes: empirical studies on the psychological, cognitive, and relational mechanisms linking specific digital practices to well-being outcomes across diverse populations and cultures. This includes studies on attention fragmentation, habit formation, impulse dysregulation, reward system adaptation, and their downstream effects on stress, sleep, and mental health. We encourage work that tests specific theoretical models (e.g., dual-system theories, reinforcement learning, self-determination theory) and interventions in digital contexts.
2. Digital Design and Architecture: analyses of how digital architectures (e.g., infinite scroll, variable rewards, autoplay) function as choice environments, shaping decisions and depleting or bolstering self-regulatory resources. This theme welcomes critical examinations of persuasive and addictive design patterns, algorithmic personalization, and AI-driven interactions (e.g., chatbots, parasocial AI) from a behavioral and human–computer interaction perspective.
3. Designing for Behavior Change and Resilience: evaluation of theory-driven interventions, educational and preventive programs, clinical tools, and policy initiatives aimed at fostering digital resilience, literacy, and healthy habits in various settings. We seek studies on behavioral interventions in clinical, educational, and organizational settings; the efficacy of "digital hygiene" tools and apps; and the role of policy "nudges" (e.g., default settings, friction) in supporting healthier engagement. Papers on cultivating metacognitive skills and intentional use are of high interest.
4. Critical Behaviors and Socio-Ecological Contexts: This includes research on digital disconnection practices, mindful use, and technology refusal as conscious behavioral strategies, as well as studies on how education, social norms, inequalities, and cultural values moderate the relationship between digital use and well-being. Critical perspectives on the ethics of behavioral design are also welcome.

Prof. Dr. Ana León Mejía
Dr. Roberto Sánchez-Cabrero
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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• digital well-being
• hyperconnectivity
• cyberpsychology
• digital addiction
• online risks
• mental health prevention
• persuasive technology ethics
• digital inequality