Visualizing the Complexity of Children’s Digital Well-Being in South Korea: A Systems Thinking Approach Based on the Systematic Literature Reviews

Background In response to the increasing prevalence of digital interaction in daily life, the concern regarding digital well-being is escalating, especially for Generation Alpha. Framing the issue of Generation Alpha’s digital well-being as a complex problem, this study aims to analyze and describe its complexity from a systems perspective. Methods This study conducted systematic literature reviews and thematic analysis to achieve an overview of existing literature and related themes on children’s digital well-being in South Korea. The results were then translated using concept mapping, a systems-thinking-based visualization tool, to identify and describe the interconnections and relationships among the issues related to children’s digital well-being. Results We found four main themes within the study on Generation Alpha's digital well-being in South Korea: causes/factors that affect digital well-being, effects of digital interactions on well-being, factors of digital well-being, and solutions/initiatives to improve digital well-being . Correlations existed among the themes, which were represented using concept mapping. The mapping also revealed research gaps and future research opportunities. Conclusions This study reports the current research landscape on Generation Alpha’s digital well-being and demonstrates the complexity of the issues found in the literature using concept mapping. The concept maps can effectively communicate the complexity embedded in design challenges thereby helping designers and stakeholders approach them from a systems perspective and identify opportunities for future design solutions.