Digital Addiction in Children: Economic Impact, Global Age Restrictions, and Protective Solutions

Abstract

A new economic variable which was unconventional was the cognitive capacity of children who are at risk due to digital addiction, in the 2025 Economic Survey of India. This paper questions the intersection between neurodevelopment and platform economics as well as the national productivity and is based on the hypothesis that compulsive digital activity is an economically measurable risk that does not just end at personal wellbeing. Through analyzing international regulatory reactions in Australia, France and other Asian jurisdictions and incorporating the knowledge of the neurological susceptibility of developing neurocortex, the analysis illustrates how attention-gathering algorithms are taking advantage of the way that prefrontal cortices of children have not fully grown yet. The consequent economic effects are a loss of focus at work, disruption of sleep, and degradation of social capital, which each undermine future labor force potential. The paper presents a synthesis of the empirical findings provided by neuroscience, behavioral economics, and policy implementation to introduce the idea of a framework that would ensure a balance between protective regulation and teaching of digital literacy. Useful family, school and community recommendations are provided with a critical analysis of age-checking mechanisms, privacy issues and the constraints of self-regulation in the industry. It concludes that successful intervention will require a concerted effort in the regulatory, technological, educational, and cultural spheres and thus puts digital boundaries not as a form of technological repellence but as a vital infrastructure in digitally reefed societies