We solved the problem of youth and screen time! Okay—we didn’t. But at the recent 2025 Youth Mental Health Summit, hosted by Teton Youth and Family Services at The Virginian Lodge in Jackson Hole, we took meaningful strides toward understanding how technology is impacting our youth—and what we, as a community, can do about it.

The Summit brought together leading voices in adolescent mental health, including researchers, clinicians, and advocates. But the most powerful insights came from the students themselves—high schoolers who participated in small-group conversations facilitated by the PROSPER team. These youth-led circles weren’t an afterthought. They were the heart of the event.

One student shared that after spending hours on her phone, she often ended up feeling worse, not better. Another described social media as “evil”—not to dramatize, but to describe the hold it has on her time, attention, and emotions. When an adult asked, “If you know it’s harming you, why don’t you just put it down?” a student replied: “What else are we going to do?” That moment was telling. Students weren’t resisting adult authority—they were identifying a vacuum. They weren’t turning to screens because they preferred them over people. They were turning to screens because nothing else was showing up. Their experiences gave powerful, personal voice to what Dr. Megan Moreno has spent years documenting in her research. Dr. Moreno, an expert on adolescent digital media use, emphasized during the Summit that screen time alone is not the issue. The more important questions are why youth go online, how they feel while they’re there, and what happens afterward. In those conversation circles, students answered all three: they go online out of boredom and isolation, they often feel worse the longer they stay, and afterward, they’re left with more anxiety and less connection. Likewise, when a student said, “If my parents planned something we both cared about, I’d put my phone down right now,” it gave real-world weight to Dr. Drew Ramsey’s message about upstream brain health. Dr. Ramsey, a psychiatrist and expert in nutritional and lifestyle psychiatry, reminded attendees that mental wellness begins with connection, nutrition, movement, and sleep—not screen restrictions or self-blame. The student’s comment didn’t just echo that—it proved it. Youth aren’t unwilling to disconnect. They’re waiting for something to connect to.

As students opened up about the pull of their phones and their desire for more meaningful interaction, Dr. Nicholas Kardaras’s work came sharply into focus. Kardaras, a national leader in screen addiction research, explained that compulsive screen use lights up the brain’s reward circuits just like gambling or drug use. What the students described—doom scrolling, feeling trapped in endless cycles of comparison and content—were not exaggerated behaviors. They were consistent with what Kardaras and others have found in clinical practice: youth are not overreacting—they are overexposed.

The students also challenged the adults in the room in ways that were hard to ignore. “Parents tell us to get off our phones,” one student said, “but they’re always on theirs.” That observation wasn’t a deflection—it was a shared indictment of a culture of distraction. And it affirmed what Dr. Kent Corso, suicidologist and behavioral health expert, made clear: we are all part of the upstream solution. Dr. Corso explained that prevention isn’t about waiting for crisis—it’s about creating safe, connected environments before young people reach a breaking point. The students’ call for time, presence, and mutual investment mirrored that model precisely. They weren’t asking to be fixed. They were asking to be prioritized.

These youth stories didn’t contradict the research. They confirmed it. Every expert brought science. The students brought truth. Together, they formed a complete picture of a generation struggling not because they’re broken—but because they’re growing up in disconnected environments. This is exactly what the 2025 Lancet Commission on Adolescent Health and Wellbeing warns about.

The Commission, made up of researchers, educators, and health leaders from across the globe, identified that adolescent mental health is shaped by social determinants—not just biology or behavior. When schools feel irrelevant, families feel distracted, and communities feel unavailable, young people reach for what’s left. As the Commission states, addressing youth wellbeing requires “equitable infrastructures of wellbeing”—things like community-based engagement, trust-building systems, and environments that help youth feel safe, supported, and valued. These needs weren’t just echoed by research—they were affirmed by the voices and experiences of everyone in the room. Among the speakers was mental health advocate and professional skier Drew Petersen, a suicide attempt survivor who spoke openly and emotionally about resilience. His message reminded us all that every situation is temporary, and that even in our darkest moments, we hold the power to change. He didn’t offer easy answers. He offered honesty. His vulnerability left a lasting impression—not because of his athletic achievements, but because he met the moment with truth and humanity.

So what now? The students didn’t ask us to confiscate their phones or impose stricter rules. They asked us to show up—to be present in their lives in real and consistent ways. What they longed for wasn’t control, but connection. They asked for the kinds of moments that matter: walks instead of warnings, time instead of tips, care instead of correction. They weren’t seeking lectures. They were asking for partnership—for adults who would notice when they begin to fade behind their screens, and who would offer something more meaningful than silence in return. They showed up to the conversation and told the truth. Unfiltered. Unscripted. Brave. They trusted us enough to say what they needed. Now it’s our turn. The only question left is—are we truly listening? And more importantly—are we ready to respond?