Navigating youth, smartphones, and policy: a balanced perspective on digital wellbeing

Smartphone use among young people is framed as a post-pandemic concern, with increased screen time and online distractions attributed to lockdown-induced dependency. However, this narrative overlooks the trajectory of digital policy in education where education departments globally were encouraging the integration of student-owned devices into classroom learning before the pandemic. The growing focus on links between the digital lives of children and adolescents and their mental wellbeing are often based on correlative data with few longitudinal or experimental studies; there is a notable absence of studies which successfully disentangle the effects of different types of smartphone/social media usage—separating learning/educational from recreational uses. However, a growing number of governments have introduced restrictive policies to limit access. This one-size-fits-all approach may inadvertently exacerbate inequalities or ignore the social realities of young people’s lives. While regulatory efforts may form part of a broader digital policy toolkit, bans alone are insufficient. They do little to address the underlying needs that drive youth engagement with smartphones; the human desire for social connection, access to information, and autonomy. A more effective response must be holistic: combining regulation with education, digital literacy, and the co-creation of safe digital spaces that support both protection and participation.