Study Shows Cell Phone use by Teens Is Detrimental to Mental Health

Parents, teachers and other adults have long suspected cell phone use can be both addicting to teens, as well as affect the mental health of teens. A 2017 study published in the journal Child Development shows how changes in sleep patterns due to cell phone use can cause adverse psychosocial problems. With 50% of teens admitting they are addicted to their cell phones, over-usage can cause anxiety, depression, and lower self-esteem. The rise in cell phone use fits into the same timeframe of teen depression and anxiety increasing by 70% over the past twenty years. A 2018 study published in Preventive Medicine Reports of over 40,000 children, ages 2-17, also shows a 50% increase in the number of teens being diagnosed with depression, anxiety or other mental illness.

Needless to say, many of our kids are on stimulus and information overload, and are unable to handle the rate at which information is entering their developing brains. They are exposed to new types of bullying through technology, such as cyberbullying, and many feel left out if they do not get enough 'likes' on social media. From an education perspective, our children are not able to learn as they should when suffering mental health issues, and our schools are not as safe when more children are angry or on-edge, and unable to deal with their emotions.

SECD can and does help diminish these widespread, complicated issues too many of our students are dealing with.