Shocker: Teens Put Down Their Phones For Summer Camp, Mental Health Improves
For two to three-and-a-half weeks, teenagers at a Maine summer camp traded their devices for outdoor activities and face-to-face friendships . By the end, their mental health had improved - with the largest gains among those who arrived struggling. The findings add to research suggesting that relief from constant connectivity can produce benefits surprisingly quickly. They also raise a question - How much of it depends on what replaces the screen? The study , published in Mental Health & Prevention , assessed 192 adolescents attending a device-free residential camp. Researchers included scientists from Sapien Labs and UC San Diego. Participants' composite mental-health scores improved by an average of 10.1 points between arrival and departure. Those starting with mental-health struggles recorded a median improvement of 27 points. These are changes on the study's questionnaire scale, not percentage improvements or evidence that a psychiatric cond...
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