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Night-time Internet Use and Mental Health in Adolescents
29/09/2026

Night-time Internet Use and Mental Health in Adolescents

abstract

The timing of Internet use may provide information about adolescent digital risks beyond total screen time. This study examined the association between Internet use after midnight, problematic Internet use (PIU), and various psychological indicators. A cross-sectional, observational, analytical study was conducted with 597 adolescents aged 12 to 19 years (M = 15.20, SD = 1.56; 53.1% boys). Measures included Internet use duration and timing, PIU, Internet use in response to negative emotional states, gaming-related problems, anxiety, depression, ADHD symptoms, and difficulties in emotion regulation. Group comparisons, correlation analyses, and regression models adjusted for age, sex, and daily Internet use duration were performed. Overall, 19.3% of participants reported using the Internet after midnight almost every day. The prevalence of positive PIU screening increased from 23.1% to 49.6%, and the prevalence of at least moderate depressive symptoms increased from 26.0% to 47.0%, when comparing adolescents who never used the Internet after midnight with those who did so almost daily. In the adjusted models, nighttime Internet use was associated with higher PIU (β = .232, p < .001) and greater depressive symptomatology (β = .177, p < .001), even after excluding the sleep-related item from the PHQ-9. Associations with anxiety, emotion regulation, and emotional Internet use were no longer significant after adjustment. Internet use after midnight appears to be a contextual marker of risk rather than a diagnostic criterion. Assessing the timing of Internet use may complement measures of total screen time and help guide prevention strategies focused on healthy sleep, self-regulation, and the early identification of depressive symptoms.

Keywords:

Adolescence; problematic Internet use; night-time Internet use; depression; mental health; digital technologies.

Received date

30/06/2026

Accepted date

14/09/2026

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Authors

  • Víctor José Villanueva-Blasco - Faculty of Health Sciences. Valencian International University. Valencia, Spain

  • Manuel Isorna Folgar - Faculty of Education and Social Work, As Lagoas Campus, University of Vigo, Ourense, Spain

  • Andrea Vázquez Martínez - Faculty of Health Sciences. Valencian International University. Valencia, Spain

  • Begoña Iranzo-Ejarque - Faculty of Health Sciences. Valencian International University. Valencia, Spain

Financing

The authors declare having received financial support for the research and/or publication of this article. This work was funded by the Valencian International University (ref. PII2024_143) and the Carlos III Health Institute (EDRF RD24/0003/0001 and RD24/0003/0020—RIAPAd Network), with co-financing from the European Union. The funders played no role in the study design, data collection, analysis or interpretation, manuscript writing, or the decision to publish the results.

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