Beyond the screen

Have you ever wondered what childhood might look like without the endless scroll? That’s the question a group of San Anton School parents recently set out to answer with their new initiative, ‘Unplug. Play. Grow.’ They are asking families to delay smartphone use until the age of 15 and social-media accounts until 16.

At a first glance, the proposal reads like a nostalgic throwback to an era when children entertained themselves with hopscotch and daydreams rather than endless scrolling. But beneath its surface lies a sophisticated argument that resonates deeply with the emerging field of well-being and happiness economics.

Happiness economists ask not only how much GDP grows but whether that growth translates into richer, more fulfilling lives.

As Nobel laureate Richard Layard reminds us, material prosperity means little if our mental health and social connections unravel in its wake.

And the evidence is stark: consider a December 2022 meta-analysis of 18 cohort studies encompassing some 241,000 young people across North America, Europe and Asia. It found that more screen time is tied to earlier and more severe depressive symptoms, even after adjusting for things like exercise, mood and family income.

While correlation does not prove causation, the consistency of these findings across cultures underscores the mental health risks of early, unregulated screen access. By the teenage years, children can spend up to nine hours each day on their phones, not out of boredom but because notifications repeatedly hijack their attention.

From a well-being perspective, ‘Unplug. Play. Grow.’ operates as a collective nudge. It works by synchronising rules across families, so no one ends up left behind. If every peer agrees to stay offline, there’s no F.O.M.O. (fear of missing out). This is the same trick that has already been tried and tested in other domains, from quitting smoking to healthy eating. When social expectations shift, individual behaviours follow.

Moreover, well-being economics teaches us that the quality of our relationships is the single strongest predictor of life satisfaction. Early childhood, in particular, is a window of opportunity: unmediated play fosters empathy, conflict resolution and a sense of agency.

Studies found that more screen time is tied to earlier and more severe depressive symptoms- Ivan Cauchi

These are the building blocks of resilience, far more enduring than the fleeting dopamine rush of online approval via likes, thumbs up or heart reactions. In normalising a smartphone-free childhood, the initiative directs children’s energy towards Playground Politics, the give and take of face-to-face friendship negotiation and conflict resolution, rather than Platform Algorithms, the hidden software rules engineered to maximise screen engagement.

Critics will argue that banning is heavy-handed, insisting that digital literacy and online safety skills matter too. Yet, what we have here is no Luddite crusade against all screens. Rather, it is a declaration of design boundaries.

Children remain free to use age-appropriate devices for educational apps, video calls and guided digital learning. What they forego are the endless scrolling, the uncurated content streams and the subtle yet constant pressures to perform.

From a public policy standpoint, the San Anton initiative could serve as a prototype. Australia’s national ban on under-16 social-media use, rolled out this year, has so far focused on platform compliance and parental controls. But rules alone cannot reform social norms. Grassroots efforts like ‘Unplug. Play. Grow.’ tap directly into the wisdom of parents and educators. They carry weight precisely because they emerge from lived experience, not detached bureaucracies.

Could this really take hold across Malta, or even further afield? It will undoubtedly be challenging but far from impossible.

It requires sustained dialogue, workshops and perhaps a public-education campaign that translates the abstract findings of well-being researchers into practical parenting strategies. But, if successful, the pay-off could be profound: a generation less tethered to pitched battles over screen time and more engaged in the messy, wonderful business of being human.

In the end, well-being economics is about choice architecture. We cannot (and should not) banish smartphones. Adults depend on them for work and social life. But for children in their formative years, the balance of risks and benefits tilts decisively toward restraint.

By delaying access, we grant young minds the freedom to explore, to cultivate genuine relationships and to discover that boredom, properly embraced, can be a seedbed of creativity.

Ivan Cauchi is a senior lecturer in economics and international business at MCAST. He also serves on the Justice and Peace Commission within the Archdiocese of Malta.