Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) interventions for digital Technology-related issues: A scoping review

Digital technology use has become near universal in modern society. Alongside benefits such as opportunities for social connection, there are increasing concerns about the potential risks of particular behaviours and affordances, e.g., problematic social media use and online gambling, prompting the development of targeted interventions for digital technology-related issues. While a growing number of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) interventions have been developed in this area, little is known about the nature or scope of this research. Consequently, a scoping review was undertaken to identify and describe existing literature detailing ACT interventions for digital technology-related issues. A comprehensive search strategy was employed of four key databases and PRISMA-ScR guidelines followed. Studies were included if they described an ACT intervention that targeted a digital technology-related issue and included at least one related outcome measure. Twenty studies met inclusion criteria, describing 21 interventions. These targeted a range of issues, including internet use, smartphone use, social media use, gaming and internet pornography use, as well as experiences of cyberbullying. The findings highlight the growing application of ACT interventions for digital technology-related issues. While acknowledging the pilot nature of this research, we suggest that future studies should provide more detail of intervention content (ideally including protocols), targets of intervention, and proposed mechanisms of change, and further, incorporate higher quality methodologies, including randomised controlled trials with larger sample sizes.