Adolescents today engage intensely with digital platforms including social media, gaming communities, AI applications, and learning technologies. This special issue seeks research examining how these complex digital environments shape adolescent development across cognitive, emotional, psychological, social, and physical domains. The urgency stems from how contemporary platforms operate through sophisticated algorithms and AI systems that actively influence adolescents' experiences in ways fundamentally different from previous technologies.
Existing research provides limited understanding of how digital platforms specifically affect adolescent developmental experiences, with little consensus on the direction, magnitude, or mechanisms of impact. The special issue invites empirical and theoretical investigations using diverse methodologies to understand how platform designs, algorithmic systems, and regulatory approaches both benefit and harm adolescent development. Contributions should examine the mechanisms by which platform affordances and AI systems shape developmental outcomes in diverse global populations.