According to the 2023 Canadian Health Survey on Children and Youth, the rate of adolescents with poor mental health had more than doubled between 2019 and 2023. The survey assessed mental well-being in 2019, and checked in with those same participants four years later. Initially, only 12% of youth aged 12 to 17 had rated their mental health as “fair” or “poor.” However, this figure had risen to 26% in 2023.

After the survey’s initial assessment, the COVID-19 pandemic had started. During the pandemic, screen time rose across all age groups. A 2024 study examined this rise and found that students who used social media to cope with the pandemic experienced higher levels of stress, anxiety, and depression. However, this relationship was more pronounced amongst lonelier students.

These findings were echoed in a 2025 study done in China. Loneliness intensified the relationship between social anxiety and smartphone over-dependence in college students. This is further supported by a review that suggests a strong association between feelings of isolation and an over-reliance on smartphones.

Jake Ernst, a social worker, psychotherapist, and the Clinical Director of Straight Up Health, explains how chronic loneliness can lead to mental health issues: “For young people, whose brains are still building the scaffolding required for social connection, isolation interrupts the development of essential skills like executive functioning, emotional regulation, and conflict repair,” he states.

Ernst also believes that smartphone dependency plays a role in isolation and exacerbates these challenges. He describes it as a paradox: technology can offer the illusion of connection while actually displacing meaningful, real-world contact. Many young people now spend their time in online spaces, prioritising attention and comparison over genuine connection, weakening their ability to handle real-world social challenges. As they turn more to curated digital interactions instead of practicing real communication, their dependence on these platforms only grows stronger.

Another growing concern in the discussion around youth loneliness is artificial intelligence (AI). There is an emerging phenomenon of people forming emotional and romantic connections with AI. The consequences of such interactions can be alarming, particularly for youth already struggling with their mental health.

A Stanford study conducted in 2025 found that with some commonly used chatbots, like character.ai and Replika, one can elicit inappropriate dialogue concerning topics like self-harm, drug use, and violence. The study notes that this is especially dangerous for young people, as they are not fully developed. They are more likely to form attachments, even with an AI chatbot.

Chatbots can simulate deep, complex relationships, and while youth recognize that AI isn’t necessarily “alive”, it doesn’t stop them from reciprocating. “AI has mostly intensified smartphone dependency by personalizing it,” Ernst claims. “AI-driven chatbots and companion apps now simulate friendship, intimacy, or care, but without the reciprocity that real relationships require.”

Ernst believes therapeutic interventions can be effective to treat smartphone dependency in youth, as long as “the social health deficit and the digital over-reliance” are addressed. He notes that therapy offers opportunities to develop the ability to co-regulate and process emotions in real-time. It also provides real-world experiences that allow youth to “rediscover the positive aspects of life,” allowing them to train the parts of their brains that require those experiences for healthy development.

It can be easy for young people to self-isolate and fall into destructive, dangerous relationships with technology. But with the right interventions and support from in-person relationships, young people who are struggling with smartphone dependency can be helped. They can rebuild their sense of connection, regain their social skills, reset their brains, and change their view of the world, both digital and real.

— Dante Lewis-Chan, Contributing Writer

Image Credits:

Featured Image: Photo by Yanping Ma on Unsplash; Creative Commons

Body Image #1: Photo by Keenan Constance on Unsplash; Creative Commons

Body Image #2: Photo by Tasha Kostyuk on Unsplash; Creative Commons