Many parents are being told that smartphones caused a teen loneliness epidemic. The claim sounds logical and emotionally satisfying. More phones, more loneliness. The problem is that this story depends on where the graph starts. When researchers widen the lens and examine decades of data, teen loneliness looks far less new, far less dramatic, and far more complex than headlines suggest.

Don’t ban tech—guide its use. With strong pedagogy, digital tools can enhance learning when used intentionally alongside traditional methods.