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Too often, public debate rewards simple answers to complicated problems. The most visible ideas can easily be mistaken for the most effective ones, but appearance isn’t the same as progress.

Youth mental health is no exception. As parents and former elected officials, we know there is no silver bullet to solve the mental health challenges young people experience today. What they鈥檙e facing is complex and shaped by a range of influences, including family dynamics, school environments, economic security, social isolation, overuse of devices and so much more.

Many Americans understand that the complexity of this challenge requires balanced solutions that meet families and children where they are. New polling from the , where we both serve on the board of directors, found that roughly three-quarters of voters and parents favor comprehensive approaches to youth mental health over narrow ones, such as technology bans.聽

Seven-in-10 voters and three-quarters of parents also believe sweeping restrictions on phones and social media can create unintended negative consequences while failing to address the underlying drivers of mental health challenges.

Take a look at how restrictions are currently unfolding in Australia. Its nationwide social media ban was intended to help young people navigate the online world more safely. Instead, early evidence suggests that these restrictions may be producing outcomes very different from those policymakers intended. 

Research conducted in April 2026 by the found that many teenagers simply shifted their online activity elsewhere. Forty-three percent reported spending more time on gaming platforms, while 39% increased their use of messaging applications that fell outside the ban’s scope. One in five said they turned more frequently to unregulated social media platforms. Rather than disappearing, online activity became harder for parents to see and guide.

Encouragingly, Americans are pointing toward a more constructive path. In our survey, parents and voters overwhelmingly support equipping young people with the skills to navigate today’s digital world instead of isolating them from it. The vast majority of voters and parents believe young people should be taught digital literacy skills, including how to use artificial intelligence safely, and that parents also need those same tools. They also strongly support media literacy education in classrooms, digital wellness resources for families and professional training that equips educators to teach responsible technology use.

Examples of this work are already emerging across the country. In Washington state鈥檚 , each school has a full-time teacher librarian who provides media literacy lessons and helps students develop the skills to assess information and navigate online spaces responsibly.聽

In Miami-Dade County, The Children鈥檚 Trust, a nonprofit dedicated to improving the lives of children and families in the county, launched a 鈥溾�� offering free, countywide workshops that give families practical support on issues affecting their children, including strategies for building healthy digital habits. 

The goal should not be to raise a generation sheltered from technology until adulthood. Technology is woven into nearly every aspect of modern life, and young people will need the skills and judgment to navigate it successfully. Our focus should be on helping them use technology wisely, critically and responsibly while addressing the broader factors that shape their mental health and wellbeing.

New research from the shows scientists agree. Noting that social media is a piece of a larger interconnected societal system, researchers warn 鈥渞estrictions may not simply remove harms; they may also shift, reshape or redistribute them.鈥� Specifically, they warn against young people moving to harder-to-monitor spaces that bring new risks of 鈥渆motional dependence, manipulation, commercial exploitation or reduced adult oversight,鈥� just as early Australian evidence suggests.聽

Solutions work best when they prepare people for the world as it is, not the world we wish existed. The United States can learn from Australia鈥檚 well-intentioned but misguided efforts and the concerns of leading scientists. The lesson is not that we should stop searching for solutions, but that we should be wary of solutions that promise more than they can deliver.聽

A more promising path lies in comprehensive approaches that bring together parents, educators, healthcare providers and communities while expanding digital literacy, mentoring, family support and access to mental health care.聽

For example, the American Academy of Pediatrics鈥� 鈥溾�� gives pediatricians and parents a practical framework for discussing screens and healthy habits in the context of a child鈥檚 development and overall wellbeing. , a member of the Coalition to Empower our Future, is also helping K-12 health educators access evidence-based, classroom-ready resources on digital wellness, online safety, self-regulation and media literacy.聽

These strategies are already being put in place and help build resilience, address underlying challenges and better equip young people to thrive in both the digital and offline worlds. If we truly want to improve outcomes for the next generation, we must focus less on policies that simply signal action and more on those that prepare young people and their parents with the support they need and are asking for.

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