The number of adults who have an account with an online social network increased from 8 percent in 2005 to 46 percent in 2009 (Lenhart, 2009c). Moreover, 90 percent of people now own a cell phone (PRC, 2014) and 64 percent own a smartphone (PRC, 2015); of those with a smartphone, 62 percent reported having used it to acquire some type of health-related information (PRC, 2015). This represents a substantial increase from 2009, when only 61 percent of adults reported looking for health information online (Jones & Fox, 2009). Furthermore, TAC is often accessible on demand at the user’s convenience, thus reducing barriers to accessing care. Digitalization and data science literacy and innovation may extend from resourceful web-based learning journeys.

Genes Linked to Antidepressant Use May Reveal New Insights Into Depression and Anxiety

This age gap can likely be attributed to both market forces (e.g., a more robust user base exists for mobile apps) and regulatory concerns (e.g., human subject protection standards being more stringent for youths compared with noninstitutionalized adults). The use of content-free phone data for phenotyping or anonymized text for peer support suggests potential solutions for privacy issues that are critical for public trust. Specifically, they should review what data will be collected, who will have access to that data, and how privacy will be protected. Patients and clinicians should carefully evaluate an app’s terms of service before entrusting sensitive, personal information. Likewise, there is a risk that developers may apply user-derived information to generate marketing data.

Smartphone apps and digital phenotyping

• While some of the earliest FDA clearances for apps were around substance use disorders, a 2020 report from the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review suggested that the underlying evidence for these early apps was poor163.
• Wearables are compact, technology-enabled tools worn by individuals to monitor and collect health data in real time, such as health monitoring watches, bracelets, rings, and glasses (35).
• Apps are designed to help manage specific mental health conditions, such as depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, or PTSD.
• To be more specific, this overview for example shows that (self-help) smartphone apps and programs, which are currently already frequently disseminated in practice, have not been the focus of as much research as often might be thought.

The lack of regulation and oversight leaves her with a sense of vulnerability, as her data is used for purposes far beyond her control or consent. The most troubling aspect of her experience is the constant push to adopt new technologies that promise easy fixes, bypassing clinical wisdom in favour of market-driven trends. The lack of evidence-based efficacy and the absence of regulation have resulted in a flood of low-quality, non-trustworthy solutions. It transmitted data to third-party companies without full transparency, raising concerns about her privacy. Despite the app’s claims of “personalisation,” it often feels like a generic solution for a complex issue.

Given the paucity of research on DMH tools for child and adolescent mental health providers 12-14, it will also be important to replicate or elicit feedback from clinicians from other health care settings serving diverse populations of young people. These privacy preferences are consistent with previous studies in which teens and their therapists prioritized ambiguous branding of an app (ie, MD vs Mood Diary) to keep curious siblings or friends from accessing their mental health information . Other common digital tools that clinicians described using with young people were tracking tools, such as apps like Daylio, to chart symptoms between sessions. In particular, digital tools are frequently used to support psychoeducation around skills, such as mindfulness, or mental health conditions such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, which then prompted discussions with their clients.

The rapid uptake and widespread engagement with smartphone technologies, even among psychiatric populations, adds further promise to the potential utility of these approaches . Most recently, the dawn of smartphone technologies has presented a new, portable, and ubiquitously accessible platform for delivering psychological therapies . In addition, similar to face-to-face CBT, approximately one quarter of patients who complete a course of treatment do not respond . While several studies have shown that tailored treatment via the internet is feasible and effective 27•, the majority of existing iCBT programs are delivered in a relatively fixed and standardized format, with little ability to tailor treatment to a APHA National Public Health Week Mental Health patient’s presenting problems, maintaining factors, or skills deficits.

Another study was able to map the spread of social media posts about the Blue Whale Challenge, an alleged game promoting suicide, over Twitter, YouTube, Reddit, Tumblr and other forums across 127 countries (Sumner et al., 2019). For youth ages 10 to 17 who reported major depressive symptomatology, there was over 3 times greater odds of facing online harassment in the last year compared to youth who reported mild or no depressive symptoms (Ybarra, 2004). Cyberbullying represents a form of online aggression directed towards specific individuals, such as peers or acquaintances, which is perceived to be most harmful when compared to random hostile comments posted online (Hamm et al., 2015). For individuals living with more severe mental illnesses, the effects of social media on psychiatric symptoms have received less attention. Quantity of social media use is also an important factor, as highlighted in a survey of young adults ages 19 to 32, where more frequent visits to social media platforms each week were correlated with greater depressive symptoms (Lin et al., 2016). Yet, reported negative effects were an increased exposure to harm, social isolation, depressive symptoms and bullying (Best et al., 2014).

Although the online social network of the moment may change over time, online social networks will likely persist, offering considerable potential to function as platforms for behavioral health screenings, brief interventions, and referrals to care. As a result, technology-based approaches to behavioral health assessment and intervention should not be held to the same standards as traditional models of care; rather, consider what technology can do well and what it can do less well when embracing a TAC approach. For each category of technology, you will find a brief description and a review of its applications in assessment, prevention, treatment, and recovery support efforts targeting behavioral health.