| Sumario: | This study examined a wide range of digital media use behaviors and analog activities as predictors of internalising problems (IP, an index of adolescent depression and anxiety) among N = 1,510 11-to 13-year-olds residing in Florida. In an attempt to better understand the relationship between digital media use and IP among children – prior research on which has produced mixed results – we examined whether perceived technological impairment (PTI), a perceptual measure defined as one's sense that technology negatively affects their daily life, mediated the relationship between digital media use and IP. Our findings were consistent with our hypothesis. Digital media use and analog activities alone explained little variance in IP. However, among kids who deem technology a problem in their lives, heavy digital media use strongly predicted IP. Indeed, social media binging, video game binging, and video gaming frequency had no direct effect on IP; they only predicted poorer mental health via PTI. This study helps explain a mechanism of the association between media use and IP in adolescents, which appears to be through perception of the negative impact of technology on their lives. Children who think technology negatively affects them appear to be correct.
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