Digital Environments, Substance Use, and Mental Health in Youth: Emerging Challenges and Preventive Solutions

Substance use is one of the most pressing public health concerns worldwide, contributing to significant disease burden, premature mortality, and wide-ranging social harm. Substances including alcohol, cannabis, vaping and e-cigarette products, and prescription medications used non-medically, such as opioids, sedatives, and stimulants, are associated with serious adverse health outcomes, including addiction, injury, chronic disease, and mental health disorders.Over the past decade, the rapid expansion of digital technologies has fundamentally changed how people access information, engage with social networks, and are exposed to behavioral influences. Social media platforms, online communities, digital entertainment, and algorithm-driven advertising systems have created new environments in which substance use behaviors and mental health outcomes are increasingly shaped. Individuals are routinely exposed to substance-related content online, from alcohol brand marketing and vaping promotion to cannabis messaging and pharmaceutical advertising, which can normalize use, distort risk perception, and influence attitudes across age groups.Digital environments also introduce distinct psychosocial pressures. Cyberbullying, online harassment, social comparison, and problematic technology use have all been linked to poorer mental health outcomes, including anxiety, depression, and loneliness. At the same time, digital technologies present genuine opportunities for public health intervention. Tele-mental health services, mobile health applications, digital screening tools, and online prevention programs are increasingly being used to extend the reach of mental health promotion and substance use prevention efforts.This Research Topic aims to advance public health understanding of substance use and mental health in the digital era, with a focus on emerging behavioral risks, underlying determinants, and effective prevention strategies. The collection brings together interdisciplinary research examining how contemporary digital environments shape substance use behaviors, including alcohol, cannabis, vaping, and non-medical prescription drug use, and how these behaviors intersect with mental health outcomes across diverse populations. The Topic also seeks to identify key intervention points and highlight scalable digital health approaches, preventive strategies, and policy measures that can reduce substance-related harms and support mental well-being.This Research Topic welcomes epidemiological, behavioral, digital, and policy-driven research. Studies involving animal models or strictly clinical pharmacological approaches fall outside the scope of this collection.We welcome original research, reviews, and perspective articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:• Prevalence, trends, and epidemiology of substance use and associated mental health comorbidities• Knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to substance use and their influence on mental health outcomes• The impact of social media, cyberbullying, and digital marketing on adolescent well-being and substance-related behaviors• Risk and protective factors, including family environment, socioeconomic status, cultural influences, and lifestyle behaviors• Evaluation of prevention and early intervention strategies, with emphasis on school-based, digital, and peer-led models• Policy and systems-level strategies, including youth mental health frameworks, regulation of online substance promotion, and equity in health service access Topic editors: Bhawna Gupta, Stephen McKenzie, Balasankar Ganesan, Michael Tong Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/80020/digital-environments-substance-use-and-mental-health-in-youth-emerging-challenges-and-preventive-solutions