Talking to Teens About AI, Screen Time, and Mental Health

Jun 8

Happy June Friends!

Shout out to the dad’s! Hope you have a great Father’s Day with your families.

The start of the summer is a great time to check in about technology use. Plus, I recently attended a two day conference with the Society for Digital Mental Health and would like to share some of what I learned, particularly as it relates to AI.

Digital Mental Health Tools: Promise and Caution

First of all, I got some great ideas on how to use AI for exposures (i.e., ChatGPT write me a rap about vomit for a fun vomit phobia exposure)! Overall, I feel positive about how digital mental health tools that are evidence-based can help people get access to care. However, we need to continue to use caution when we seek mental health support online. AI-based tools are changing rapidly and do not have appropriate safety guardrails or access to evidence-based treatment standards to function in a safe and efficacious way as a therapist - (yet).

For example, The American Psychological Association’s Stress in America report highlighted that young adults (ages 18-34) are more likely to avoid talking about their stress with others because they are concerned about burdening others. In the panels I attended at the conference, it was hypothesized that this could be one of the reasons young people turn to AI tools for therapy when they are in distress. So, this brings us back to the importance of having open conversations about how people are using technology, and how technology can support wellbeing.

How to Talk With Young People About AI

Here are some takeaways I want to pass on for talking with young people about AI (see Resource below for further reading):

✅ Start with the Basics

You are the expert on your child.
AI is evolving rapidly and it means different things at different ages.
As a parent you don’t need to have all the answers. Starting the conversation is what matters most.

📘 Educate about AI’s risks

Explain that AI predicts based on what it found on the internet, it doesn’t know facts.
Discuss the dangers of misinformation, bias, and manipulation.
Make them aware that some tools collect data, and others might be used deceptively.

✋ Setting Boundaries

Stay engaged and monitor AI app usage as needed.
Set clear boundaries as temporary safeguards.
Remind teens that the goal is to help them develop independent, responsible habits. Your job as a parent is to keep them safe.

Overall we don’t want the first thing a person does when they experience distress to be to pull out their phone. We want to build skills like distress tolerance and use some of our awesome CBT skills to regulate our emotions. Technology can support positive coping and so can getting off technology and into our life.

💬 Talk About Feeds

Encourage curating feeds that make you/your child feel inspired, not inferior.
Follow accounts that promote mental health, creativity, movement, or non-toxic body image.
Ask “Does this app help us stay curious or does it distract us?”
Consider weekly “check-in” prompts like: “What was something online this week that made you feel good… and something that didn’t?”

🧘 Build awareness

Help teens build awareness of how much time is being spent on technology and how those different applications make them feel. Remember, we want to build towards young people having the skill to manage this, versus always needing a parent to set the limit for them and regulate. Helping them build awareness around their own habits is step 1.
Purpose: Is the screen time passive, social, or creative? If it is social, can we use technology as a stepping stone towards meeting people in real life?
Identify what the phone is being used for (e.g., stress relief, connection) and replace it with something offline that meets the same need:
~Instead of social media: call a friend
~Instead of scrolling at night: read, stretch, or do a puzzle.

Tools That Can Help

🔕 Bonus: Use Do Not Disturb, Focus Mode, or apps like Forest (recommended to me by a teen, a gamified focus timer — grow a virtual tree when you stay off your phone).

🛠️ Tool: Use the AAP Family Media Plan to make age-appropriate agreements. It can be a great idea to co-create a family media plan.

I’m setting the intention of being mindful of my technology use this summer and I hope you’ll join me! If you’d like support around any of the above, feel free to reach out. Well Brain is here to help.

What We're Watching:

Science journalist and author Catherine Price explains how our phones and apps are designed to manipulate our bio-chemistry.

What We're Reading:

How to Break Up with Your Phone: The 30-Day Digital Detox Plan by Catherine Price. Check out the book here.

What We’re Listening To:

Dr. Becky’s take on screentime: In our modern world, it’s unrealistic to think that our kids will be 100% screen-free. But teaching them to struggle, to be frustrated, to find rewards beyond the screen (and also understanding that this won’t happen overnight!), will help build resilience in the long run.

Research Corner:

Results of a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center in 2024 were released on April 25, revealing that 48% of U.S. teens believe social media negatively affects their mental health—up from 32% in 2022—and 45% say they spend too much time on it. Girls were more likely to report negative effects on sleep and confidence, while boys cited stress from masculinity norms.