Parents should put limits on how much their kids are on their phones. Experts agree – “Parents need to manage the time that students are on their phone, and I think students need to earn that time,” said Rob Benner, a school psychologist with almost 30 years of experience. Parents should create these policies to reduce the negative effects of anxiety day in and day out.
Jean Twenge, a professor at San Diego State University said, “I found that all of the possibilities traced back to a major change in teens’ lives: the sudden ascendance of the smartphone.”
PSU stands for Problematic Cellphone Use, which 18.7% of teens older than 16 say they have, and 14.5% of teens younger than 16 say this too reports a study from Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience Institute at King’s College London. Ben Carter, Professor of Medical Statistics at King’s, said, “We found that problematic smartphone use was linked with anxiety, depression, and insomnia across two separate adolescent age groups using two different research methods.” A study from PEW Research Center found that 42% of U.S Teens feel anxious without their phone, 49% being girls and 35% being boys.
To counteract this, engaging in positive behavior can help manage teen anxiety. Mary Ellen Flannery from neaToday wrote about Kathy Reamy, a school counselor, saying: “Reamy often suggests therapy to students and parents.” Flannery added, “Reamy does all that she can to talk to students about deep breathing exercises, the power of positive self-talk, healthy nutrition, yoga, sleep, and more.”
Parents should put forth more effort into helping kids with anxiety by just being a trustworthy person to talk to and cutting down on phone time.
The Importance of Parents Limiting Phone Time for Teens
By Aaron Parham ’26
Parents should put limits on how much their kids are on their phones. Experts agree – “Parents need to manage the time that students are on their phone, and I think students need to earn that time,” said Rob Benner, a school psychologist with almost 30 years of experience. Parents should create these policies to reduce the negative effects of anxiety day in and day out.
Jean Twenge, a professor at San Diego State University said, “I found that all of the possibilities traced back to a major change in teens’ lives: the sudden ascendance of the smartphone.”
PSU stands for Problematic Cellphone Use, which 18.7% of teens older than 16 say they have, and 14.5% of teens younger than 16 say this too reports a study from Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience Institute at King’s College London. Ben Carter, Professor of Medical Statistics at King’s, said, “We found that problematic smartphone use was linked with anxiety, depression, and insomnia across two separate adolescent age groups using two different research methods.” A study from PEW Research Center found that 42% of U.S Teens feel anxious without their phone, 49% being girls and 35% being boys.
To counteract this, engaging in positive behavior can help manage teen anxiety. Mary Ellen Flannery from neaToday wrote about Kathy Reamy, a school counselor, saying: “Reamy often suggests therapy to students and parents.” Flannery added, “Reamy does all that she can to talk to students about deep breathing exercises, the power of positive self-talk, healthy nutrition, yoga, sleep, and more.”
Parents should put forth more effort into helping kids with anxiety by just being a trustworthy person to talk to and cutting down on phone time.
https://www.nea.org/nea-today/all-news-articles/epidemic-anxiety-among-todays-students