by Tim Leogrande, BSIT, MSCP, Ed.S. with Wendy Leogrande, DNP, FNP-BC

APRIL 9 2026 • 8 MIN 45 SEC READ

As an educator and part-time volunteer who works with at-risk young adults, I routinely encounter individuals who feel overwhelmed, disconnected, or quietly discouraged about the future. Many describe spending large portions of their day interacting with screens — sometimes for school, frequently for social media. At the same time, they often share feeling more lonely and isolated than ever.

This is one reason why the work of researcher Jonathan Haidt has struck a chord with so many people. In his 2024 book The Anxious Generation, Haidt reports that the shift from a play-oriented childhood to a smartphone-centric upbringing is associated with rising anxiety, depression, and loneliness among adolescents and young adults. Haidt’s thesis focuses not only on the impact of social media, but on what digital immersion may be crowding out — direct play, unstructured social interaction, and embodied experiences which support healthy development, executive functioning, and the regulation of emotions (Yogman et al., 2018).

“The loss of free play and the rise of continual adult supervision deprived children of what they needed most to overcome the normal fears and anxieties of childhood: the chance to explore, test and expand their limits, build close friendships through shared adventure, and learn how to judge risks for themselves.” – Jonathan Haidt

These concerns came into sharper focus for me in a postgraduate course on higher education leadership, where a doctoral fellow recently highlighted the growing body of research suggesting that the effects of emotional trauma are not necessarily permanent. Most of the follow-up discussion centered on Healthy Outcomes from Positive Experiences (HOPE), a framework built around positive childhood experiences (PCEs), along with ancillary research suggesting that strong human connections can reduce anxiety, heal trauma, and promote healthy childhood development (Bethell et al., 2019; Shonkoff et al., 2012).

The results were compelling, quantitative, well-supported, and highly relevant to the current debate about the mental health of young people. They also helped frame a related issue more clearly — the frequent use of mobile devices during the formative years.

Research on screen use and mental health is more mixed and nuanced than headlines often suggest. Large-scale analyses have found that associations between digital technology use and adolescent well-being are generally minimal, even when statistically significant (Orben & Przybylski, 2019). Other studies suggest that screen time may impact wellness indirectly, especially when it interferes with sleep or involves emotionally charged nighttime use, both of which have been linked to poor mental health outcomes in adolescents (Hale & Guan, 2015; Woods & Scott, 2016).

<aside> 💡

The question is not just whether screens are harmful. It’s whether an adolescence saturated with devices reduces opportunities for the kind of experiences that help young people become emotionally resilient in the first place.

</aside>

That doesn’t mean we’ve identified a precise threshold at which screen exposure begins to alter brain chemistry in undesirable ways or does developmental harm. It can, however, mean that when virtually-mediated experiences consistently replace real-life interactions, something fundamental to development and wellness may be lost.

This is where the HOPE framework comes in. Instead of focusing primarily on risk or pathology, HOPE emphasizes PCEs. Research on PCEs indicates they are associated with a reduced likelihood of adult depression and poor mental health, even among individuals who have experienced trauma (Bethell et al., 2019). This matters because it reminds us that adversity and hardship are not the only things which shape a person. We are also shaped by love, safety, involvement, acceptance, belonging, and trust.

This possibility is not limited to childhood. The same biology which makes early relationships so formative also helps explain why close, enduring adult relationships can be reparative. ******Research on social buffering suggests adults with adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) who report consistent social and emotional support later in life have substantially lower odds of experiencing depression (Cheruvu et al., 2016). Trauma-informed research makes a similar point from another angle. Healing often involves more than symptom reduction (Sweeney et al., 2018).

“Through relationships, trauma survivors can learn to feel safe, trust others, learn new ways of relating to people and develop self-compassion.” – Sweeney et al.

Public debates about frequent screen use often stop at reduction. Less phone time, fewer apps, and stricter limits. While those strategies will almost certainly help, they are unlikely to address the deeper issue. Simply setting phones aside doesn’t automatically create meaningful human connections. Connection grows through ordinary social activities like eating meals together, working in groups to solve problems, creating together, healthy physical contact, and play. These moments may appear insignificant in everyday life, but they are exactly the kind of activities associated with positive childhood experiences and building long-term emotional resilience (Bethell et al., 2019; Yogman et al., 2018).

<aside> 💡

If Haidt's work sheds light on what may be eroding the well-being of young people, the HOPE framework offers a constructive path forward.

</aside>

Some of the most powerful childhood experiences include:

• Helpful, consistently engaging relationships with adults.
• Safe and stable places to live, learn, and grow.
• Opportunities to participate, contribute, feel that they belong, and which challenge them to solve problems, grow emotionally, and become more resilient to adversity.