Digital overload threatens youth well-being as Europe confronts online fatigue

Between 2020 and 2024, screen time among young Europeans rose by more than 60 percent, as education, work, and socialization moved almost entirely online. This sudden digital acceleration, though necessary for continuity during lockdowns, had long-term psychological effects. By 2021, more than 65 percent of Europeans aged 18–29 were at risk of depression, nearly triple the pre-pandemic rate.

A new academic study has sounded the alarm on an escalating mental health and social issue facing Europe’s younger generations: digital burnout. Researcher Francesco Sismondini argues that the continent’s youth are growing increasingly fatigued by constant digital engagement, online pressure, and information overload.

The paper, titled “Are Young Europeans Tired of the Digital World?” and published in European View (SAGE Journals, 2025), paints a detailed picture of how digital dependency, heightened during and after the pandemic, is fueling exhaustion, anxiety, and a cultural backlash against hyper-connectivity.

Digital fatigue and the post-pandemic generation

The research explores a key paradox at the heart of contemporary European life: while the digital world offers unprecedented connectivity, opportunity, and access to knowledge, it has also produced a generation that feels drained, overwhelmed, and emotionally detached. Drawing on data from the World Health Organization (WHO) and Eurofound, the study reveals that digital burnout has become a defining characteristic of post-pandemic youth culture across Europe.

Between 2020 and 2024, screen time among young Europeans rose by more than 60 percent, as education, work, and socialization moved almost entirely online. This sudden digital acceleration, though necessary for continuity during lockdowns, had long-term psychological effects. By 2021, more than 65 percent of Europeans aged 18–29 were at risk of depression, nearly triple the pre-pandemic rate. The study highlights that more than half of young people surveyed across EU member states now associate constant internet use with tiredness, anxiety, and lower motivation.

Sismondini describes a generation caught in a feedback loop of engagement and exhaustion, where the need to stay informed, connected, and visible on social platforms fuels both social inclusion and emotional depletion. This pattern, the paper suggests, represents not merely individual burnout but a broader cultural and existential fatigue brought on by digital saturation.

From online overload to digital detox: The cultural pushback

The study found the emergence of a digital detox movement spreading across Europe’s cities. The research documents how young Europeans are voluntarily reducing their screen time, deleting social media apps, and seeking offline social experiences as an act of resistance against the constant connectivity culture.

Grassroots initiatives like The Offline Club, with chapters in Amsterdam, London, and Milan, are organizing “screen-free” gatherings that encourage face-to-face interaction and mindful disconnection. Similar patterns are visible across Germany, where 84 percent of 18–24-year-olds report overusing smartphones and are consciously trying to cut back. These shifts echo broader global trends, from the digital minimalism movement in the United States to the Chinese tang ping (“lying flat”) lifestyle, reflecting a generational reevaluation of technology’s role in daily life.

The author argues that this quiet rebellion is less about rejecting technology outright and more about reclaiming autonomy and attention. In a world where social validation, entertainment, and work are all mediated through screens, taking a digital pause has become a form of empowerment. The study frames this response as both psychological self-defense and a social rebalancing act, one that challenges the myth that more connectivity always equals more happiness.

The rise of digital detox culture also intersects with concerns over data privacy, online harassment, and algorithmic manipulation. Young Europeans are increasingly aware that their online behaviors are commodified, monitored, and used to influence choices, from shopping to political views. This awareness, coupled with mental fatigue, is fueling a widespread desire to reconnect with the tangible and the real.

Policy response and the call for human-centered digital governance

The study places digital burnout within a policy and governance context, arguing that Europe’s regulatory frameworks are beginning to recognize the psychological costs of digital life. Sismondini examines several legal and institutional measures designed to protect citizens, particularly young workers, from the pressures of perpetual digital engagement.

One landmark policy is the Right to Disconnect, first enacted in France in 2017 and later adopted by Belgium, Italy, and Spain. This legislation grants employees the legal right to ignore work-related emails or messages outside office hours, aiming to restore work-life balance and mitigate burnout. Such measures, according to the study, represent an important acknowledgment by European governments that the digital economy must respect human limits.

At the continental level, the EU Digital Services Act (DSA), which came into effect in 2023, addresses online safety and mental well-being by mandating stricter controls on harmful content and enforcing age verification systems for minors. While these initiatives mark progress, Sismondini cautions that they also raise difficult questions about privacy and digital rights. The challenge for policymakers lies in ensuring that protections against exploitation do not evolve into forms of surveillance or paternalism.

The author’s analysis ultimately places these efforts within a broader ethical and philosophical framework inspired by Christian Democratic thought. Here, technology is viewed not as an end in itself but as a means to serve human dignity and community. The author draws parallels to Europe’s post-war social market economy, which balanced growth with social justice. He argues that digital transformation today requires a similar equilibrium, where innovation advances in harmony with mental health, ethics, and fairness.