A 2025 poll from the C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital at the University of Michigan asked American parents of children ages one to 18 about their views on various child health topics including bullying, internet safety, lack of physical activity, parental stress and diet.
The Mott poll report, released in August, found that a majority of parents surveyed, 69%, think the physical health of American children and teens is getting worse. And even more parents are worried about their kids’ emotional wellbeing: 83% believe the mental health of U.S. children and teens is also on the decline.
Results of the poll also show that parents believe social media, too much screen time, and internet safety to be some of the top concerns kids are facing today.
“Since the increased use of social media starting around 2010, the prevalence of mental health problems in youth has also increased significantly,” according to the report. “This increase, particularly in depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts continued through the COVID-19 pandemic years.”
Jonathan Haidt, social scientist and author of “The Anxious Generation,” is one of the many experts sounding an alarm about the connection between increased anxiety and depression among young people and smartphones and social media.
“All these devices are designed to keep kids scrolling for hours and hours,” he previously told CNBC Make It. “The average screen time is eight to 10 hours, not including school.”
“We have to roll that back if we want any hope for them to grow up healthy,” he said.
Haidt encourages parents to be more intentional about reducing their child’s use of devices and social media. Here, he and Jean Twenge, a psychology professor and author of “10 Rules for Raising Kids in a High-Tech World,” offer up some recommendations for how parents can work to get that done.
No smartphones before high school
Haidt argues for a clear boundary: Kids should not get a smartphone before they reach high school.
A global study of 27,969 18-to-24-year-olds by nonprofit Sapien Labs found that mental wellbeing improved the older the age of first ownership of a smartphone. Haidt also recommends parents refrain from enabling the use of social media on kids’ phones before the age of 16.
When kids get their devices, Haidt suggests parents have a designated place for them.
“They live on the kitchen counter,” Haidt said as an example. “If you need it, you check it out.”
No screens in the bedroom overnight
Twenge advocates for keeping screens out of the bedroom overnight.
“That’s just a situation where there’s, kind of, no argument: ‘You do not need that phone in your bedroom when you are supposed to be sleeping. Period. End of story. Mic drop. We’re done,'” Twenge previously told CNBC Make It.
Devices in the bedroom can disrupt children’s sleep, whether they’re up late scrolling or their notifications are waking them up. “Not getting enough sleep is a risk factor for just about everything we’d like our kids to avoid, from getting sick to feeling depressed,” Twenge wrote in her book “10 Rules for Raising Kids in a High-Tech World.”
Haidt would go a step further: no screens in the bedroom whatsoever, he said.
More free play outside
To ensure kids don’t get too sucked into their devices, Haidt also recommends parents encourage them to spend time outside with friends.
Communities can decide to enact what he calls “free play Fridays.”
“Everyone knows that’s when kids get together at the park, they play baseball, football, whatever,” he previously told Make It. “Maybe they just stay at the school playground.”
Ultimately, playing with friends and without screens is “the most fun kids can have,” he said. They might have so much, they’ll ask to continue spending time with their friends over the weekend.
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