Psychological aspects of digital device use in children: research landscape based on a bibliometric analysis

<jats:p>&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Context and relevance&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;.&lt;/strong&gt; Contradictory evidence on how digital devices affect child development&amp;mdash;both positively and negatively&amp;mdash;calls for a systematic review of existing studies and identification of research gaps. Bibliometric analysis offers an effective way to address this need by identifying key trends in the field. &lt;strong&gt;Objective.&lt;/strong&gt; To identify major trends in research on the psychological aspects of children's use of digital devices and to outline promising avenues for future study. &lt;strong&gt;Methods and Materials.&lt;/strong&gt; We conducted a bibliometric analysis of the OpenAlex database of scientific publications and then used VOSviewer to construct bibliometric maps. The analysis drew on 4,017 papers published between 1974 and 2025. &lt;strong&gt;Results.&lt;/strong&gt; The bibliometric analysis revealed seven clusters, three of which were central: computer science, medical sciences, and a unifying cluster of psychological and pedagogical research. &lt;strong&gt;Conclusions.&lt;/strong&gt; The analysis of the leading clusters highlights a shift in scientific inquiry from studying measurable effects toward analyzing the psychological consequences of digital device and technology use. Psychological and pedagogical research continues to be in high demand, as reflected in its substantial citation counts despite the relative novelty of the field. However, there is a shortage of longitudinal studies on how technology affects child development, as well as a lack of research accounting for cultural differences in digital practices.&lt;/p&gt;</jats:p>