Mental Health Strength in a Digital, Post-Pandemic World
Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Publication (Outlet/Website): PrairieCare
Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/06/26
What do children really need for strong mental health development in today’s tech-driven, post-pandemic world?
Dr. Joshua Stein, MD, is a board-certified Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist. He is the clinical director and an attending clinician at PrairieCare’s youth Partial Hospital Program (PHP), operating a clinic out of their Brooklyn Park, Minnesota Medical Office Building. A graduate of Cornell University and the University of Minnesota, where he completed his psychiatry residency and fellowship, Dr. Stein is dedicated to improving the mental health of children, teens, and families. His clinical focus includes autism, anxiety, OCD, and depression, with an emphasis on long-term functional outcomes. As president of the Minnesota Society for Child Adolescent Psychiatry, he advocates for greater access to care. He has been recognized as a Top Doctor by Minneapolis St. Paul Magazine and Minnesota Monthly.
Scott Douglas Jacobsen: What does clinical work reveal as the fundamental psychological needs of children today?
Dr. Joshua Stein: Children need the opportunity to face increasingly difficult obstacles to build industry, purpose, talent and initiative. In my practice, I compare this to learning how to read. To explain: initially we need to learn the alphabet, then sound out short words, put them in sentences, and finally read paragraphs and chapters. If we do not learn the basics of reading, imagine how complex a high school English class would be.
From a psychological perspective, children need to be able to face age-appropriate challenges and learn how to manage them. That way, by the time they are young adults, they are able to juggle the complexities of high school life.
During the pandemic, out of the natural instinct to protect, many kids were not given the opportunity to face developmentally appropriate challenges. For example, they did not learn to detach in preschool or stand up to the third grade bully. They did not have to sit uncomfortably behind someone they were attracted to in seventh grade, experience what it’s like to not get the role they wanted in drama class, or the ability to increase practice intensity in sports. The opportunity cost of the COVID-era and its lasting ripples has led to social stagnation and missed psychological developmental milestones. We are seeing college students who operate as early high schoolers, high schoolers who act like they are in junior high, and so on.
Jacobsen: How does this change in the digital world?
Stein: There will always be a generational fear of change and the unknown. In the 60s, it was Elvis’s hips, and in the 80s, it was the war on drugs. Now, as technology moves faster than ever, we are seeing growing dependence on social media and screens in new and challenging ways, and this is occurring at a developmentally critical time for kids who need to face and overcome challenges in their real, offscreen lives. So many kids doomscroll instead of tolerating hard feelings. When things get difficult, they turn to easy distractions online. They also face the challenges of online personas and cyber bullying. Increasing numbers of kids are giving up parts of their own life to watch 6-second clips of other people’s idealized lives. I avoid fearmongering in my work, but I am concerned with increasing patterns of aimlessness and the technology dependence that go hand-in-hand. This generation was undermined by the pandemic and that is further exploited by the digital era. It is critical that they have offline lives and learn how to do hard or challenging things.
Jacobsen: How can parents and caregivers identify early signs of a struggle with mental health?
Stein: Children often display emerging mental health concerns in their patterns and body complaints. We commonly see changes to sleep routine, impairment in concentration, school refusal, and irritability as initial signs and symptoms of mental health concerns. They may describe upset stomach indigestion or start to use the bathroom excessively. Kids hold their anxiety in their bodies and often do not yet have the language to define what is happening to them. Additionally, patterns of depression are often atypical in children. Unlike adults who are often depressed across all areas of their life, children may still enjoy their favorite things, even if they feel depressed. They may laugh with their friends, succeed in their sport, and be thrilled to go to a favorite activity. Then, in quiet moments, they may be sullen, more emotional, or easily distressed. These inconsistencies are often signs of emerging childhood depression.
Jacobsen: What practices are effective in fostering resilience and mental health in children?
Stein: My primary recommendation is that parents monitor their own mental health needs to set a good example for their child. Parents should be reflective of their own emotions and be intentional about naming challenges or difficulties in their own feelings regularly. This provides insight and a scaffold for children to learn. Additionally, pushing kids to try things outside their comfort zone in small sips and gulps is warranted. This allows them to build industry and self-worth, to tackle hard things so they know what they can and cannot do, and learn how to ask for help when needed. In the digital age, as parents, we are strikingly aware of all that can go wrong. Our own anxieties can lead to being overprotective and helicoptering. We need to allow our kids to grow so that they feel confident in fighting their own battles. Try asking your child, “How would you like to handle this?” and tackle things together.
Jacobsen: How does screen time impact the mental health of young people?
Stein: This is a notable and incredibly complex subject. In some ways, social media and screens are incredibly helpful. They allow connection and exploration of shared interests that used to be done in isolation. On the other hand, we know that excessive social media time—somewhere between 3-5 hours a day—worsens mental health outcomes, including increased suicidal thoughts, self-harm, and negative self-image. Studies have shown that placing limits on social media time greatly improves general wellbeing. Interestingly, if you ask teenagers, they are strikingly aware of the harms of social media. They also struggle to set their own limits on their screen time. It is important to support them by modeling healthy screen time behavior and setting the limits that our children crave so that they can be successful and experience all of the other joys in life.
Jacobsen: How can schools and community programs support children’s mental well-being?
Stein: Fortunately, we are seeing a lot of advancement in schools’ awareness and engagement regarding mental health. I think creating phone-free zones would be strikingly helpful. Studies show that excess screen use has led to attention issues in older teenagers and distract kids from the school day. By creating a sanctuary in the school where phones are only available during passing time, or are not available until the end of the day, there is a true opportunity to improve wellbeing.
Jacobsen: How can caregivers distinguish between regular developmental behaviors and symptoms of serious mental health conditions?
Stein: My advice is to trust your gut. If something seems off with your child, their irritability is severe, or sleep-wake schedule is abnormal, check in. Caregivers often delay care because they feel their only option is to see a psychiatrist or mental health professional. My colleagues in pediatrics and family practice are excellent in starting care, and a large part of their practice relates to mental wellbeing. They can help families understand the difference between normative development and concerning features of anxiety, depression or mood disorders. So check in with your family doctor if you are concerned.
Jacobsen: In leading youth services at PrairieCare, what innovations excite you?
Stein: There are a couple advancements that profoundly excite me. The first is a silver lining from the pandemic. Virtual health care has allowed the expansion of mental health resources into all corners of our country. It has stopped the geographic disparity that too often led to underprivileged children not being able to get care. At PrairieCare, due to the pandemic, we built out extensive online resources that allow kids to participate in groups or see their physician from their home setting. This is an excellent resource, and many teenagers find it more comfortable and collaborative in their own care.
Additionally, in the near future, artificial intelligence is going to let your doctor be more present and less focused on charting and note writing. Resources like ambient AI will be able to monitor the conversation, take notes, prepare prescriptions, etc. As we implement this in our practice at PrairieCare, I am excited for the burden of charting to decrease so the joy of healing and interacting with my patients can increase.
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