A recent study found that Christian schools that instituted a cell phone ban reported better mental health among their students. This was reported by Crosswalk.

It was the conclusion of a survey initiated by the Denver Seminary’s  School Counseling Mental Health Initiative and the Association of Christian Schools International.

Overall 80% of Christian schools rated the mental health of their students as either good or excellent.

But the percentage jumped significantly if the Christian school had initiated some type of Cell phone ban. When these were implemented, 98% of those schools reported good to excellent mental health.

There were several levels of bans. The survey also found that schools with the more restrictive bans reported better mental health.

The restrictions ranged from a full ban that required students to hand in their cell phones when they entered the school. They were then returned at the end of the school day.

Partial ranged from students turning in their cell phones for each class session. Alternatively, students were allowed to keep their phones with usage restricted to breaks.

This survey falls in line with the analysis of data of a three year study of 12,000 children by the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development group. It reported a link between depression symptoms and high cell phone usage by young adolescents.

But a big part of the problem may not be cell phones directly but rather social media.

On December 10, 2025, children in Australia discovered that they could no longer access their social media accounts. Ten sites were affected: Instagram, Facebook, Twitch, Snapchat, Threads, X, Reddit, Kick, TikTok, and YouTube (does not include Youtube kids).

It was part of a ban instituted by the government that prevented children under the age of 16 from accessing social media. This included setting up new accounts and being permanently logged out of previously established accounts.

The social media companies that failed to institute programs such as age validation would face fines.

According to an Australian government report, studies found that 96% of the children between the ages of 10 to 15, were active on social media. It also found that 70% had been exposed to harmful content that included grooming.

In announcing the ban, the government stated that many social media platforms have “design features that encourage [young people] to spend more time on screens, while also serving up content that can harm their health and wellbeing“.

Several other countries are now considering bans as well. Predictably social media companies reacted stating that such bans will only make things worse.

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