Cell phones and mental health of teens

Every teacher I know is talking about our concerns about cell phone use by teens.  

Less smartphone time equals happier teenager, study suggests

Study says more screen time has led to drop in self-esteem and life satisfaction. 

http://www.startribune.com/less-smartphone-time-equals-happier-teenager-study-suggests/471157883/

Quotes I found interesting:

"A precipitous drop in the happiness, self-esteem and life satisfaction of American teens came as their ownership of smartphones rocketed from zero to 73 percent and they devoted an increasing share of their time online.  Coincidence? New research suggests it is not."

"They found that between 1991 and 2016, adolescents who spent more time on electronic communication and screens — social media, texting, electronic games, the internet — were less happy, less satisfied with their lives and had lower self-esteem. TV watching, which declined over the nearly two decades they examined, was similarly linked to lower psychological well-being.

By contrast, adolescents who spent more time on non-screen activities had higher psychological well-being. They tended to profess greater happiness, higher self-esteem and more satisfaction with their lives.

While these patterns emerged in the group as a whole, they were particularly clear among eighth- and 10th-graders, the authors found: “Every non-screen activity was correlated with greater happiness, and every screen activity was correlated with less happiness.'"

"Gathered together, those snapshots also produced a clear picture: Adolescents’ psychological well-being was lowest in years when, as a group, they spent more time online, on social media and reading news online, and when more Americans owned smartphones. Psychological well-being was highest in years when adolescents spent more time with their friends in person, reading print media and on exercise and sports."