Screens and Mental Health: Schools Set the Rules
Anxiety diagnoses in minors have quadrupled since 2015, and 114 education systems regulate phones in class, said María Victoria Angulo.
At the HumanaMENTE forum, organized in Colombia by the Fundación Innovación para el Desarrollo, former Education Minister María Victoria Angulo spoke about screens and mental health in childhood and adolescence. She was interviewed by Revista Semana.
Childhood changed stages
Angulo doesn't deny the problem, but she asks us to read it carefully. Emotional difficulties in childhood have always existed; today they are detected better. The 2025 National Mental Health Survey shows that, compared with 2015, depression diagnoses tripled and generalized anxiety diagnoses quadrupled in the country.
The environment has changed too. Free play competes with hours of screen time and with the pressure of constantly comparing yourself to others. The same survey estimates that one third of minors have gone through at least one traumatic event. Jonathan Haidt, in "The Anxious Generation," describes the shift from a play-based childhood to a phone-based one.
«What gets lost when the screen takes hours away from sleep, sports or conversation»
Angulo sees a relationship between certain digital uses and emotional distress, though she warns that studies don't always show what causes what. What she is clear about is what gets lost when the screen takes hours away from sleep, sports or conversation.
Among teenage girls the association with anxiety is stronger, and many turn to their phones when they feel sad or stressed. Their parents, however, perceive less anxiety than they express. On body image, the psalm says it better than any filter: "I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works" (Psalm 139:14, ESV).
Rules in the classroom, not just in the pocket
The study Desconectar para Conectar, by UNCOLI together with Stanford and the World Bank, found that by age 14 nearly all participants, more than 95%, were already using a cellphone and social media. And six out of ten got their phone before the age their own parents considered appropriate. There is a pending conversation at home.
At school, UNESCO reports national phone bans in 114 education systems, almost six out of ten countries. Australia put restrictions in place for those under 16 in December 2025. France passed something similar for those under 15 in July 2026, although its Constitutional Council struck it down a month later. In Colombia, Congress is debating a similar measure.
PISA 2025 helps show the effect: in science, 36% of Colombian students say their classmates get distracted by devices, compared with 28% in the OECD. Where phones are banned, that reported distraction drops by 33%. Angulo supports clear rules, but asks that they be agreed upon with students, teachers and families, and that their results be evaluated. Time is not to be wasted: "Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil" (Ephesians 5:15-16, ESV).
When AI becomes an advisor
Artificial intelligence has already entered the classroom. PISA 2025 found that more than half of Colombian 15-year-olds (56%) turn to an AI assistant every week to study; across the OECD, the proportion is 46%. Used well, she explains, it allows practice and helps detect difficulties.
The risk appears when it replaces effort or becomes emotional companionship. A Common Sense Media survey in the United States found that, among teens ages 13 to 17, 72% had used an AI companion at some point, and almost one in three did so to chat or get emotional support. A crisis answered by a chatbot can get inadequate responses.
Cyberbullying also weighs heavily: those who experienced it lose 39 points on average on the test. And here is a fact to keep your spirits up: 82% of young Colombians describe themselves as curious, compared with 73% in the OECD. There is a hunger to learn; the task is to channel it.
What can you do this week? Talk at home about the age and rules for a first phone, and check how much time you give to the screen before bed. If something is weighing on you, don't carry it alone: tell a trusted adult, your pastor or a health professional. In an emergency, call your country's emergency services; at findahelpline.com you can find the helpline for your country.
