A Maine study found marked improvements in adolescents’ wellbeing after two to three and a half weeks without phones, though researchers caution that exercise, sleep and camp friendships may have driven much of the change.
A device-free summer camp in Maine may offer a simple lesson for parents worried about teenagers’ screen habits: when phones are set aside and days are filled with outdoor activity and in-person conversation, some adolescents appear to feel better quite quickly.
Researchers reported in Mental Health & Prevention that 192 teenagers who attended a residential, screen-free camp for two to three and a half weeks showed clear gains in self-reported mental wellbeing between arrival and departure. According to the study, the average improvement was 10.1 points on the questionnaire used by the researchers, while campers who arrived already struggling recorded a median gain of 27 points.
The strongest changes were seen in adaptability and resilience, with many campers also saying they found it easier to focus and felt less worry and restlessness. The study found that 44% of participants felt a stronger sense of belonging at camp than at school, while 40% said making friends came more easily.
The work adds to a growing body of research suggesting that stepping back from constant connectivity can bring benefits in a matter of days or weeks. But the findings also underline an important caveat: it is difficult to know how much of the improvement came from less screen time itself, and how much was driven by better sleep, more exercise, time in nature and the social structure of camp life.
That uncertainty matters because the Maine study did not include a control group. Sapien Labs, which was involved in the research alongside scientists from UC San Diego, noted that the design cannot prove that removing devices alone caused the change. The camp experience itself may have been doing much of the work.
Even so, the results fit with other studies pointing in the same direction. A 2024 Danish trial in JAMA Network Open found that families asked to sharply reduce recreational screen use saw children show fewer behavioural difficulties, particularly emotional symptoms and peer problems, along with better prosocial behaviour. A separate 2014 UCLA-led study reported that sixth-graders at an outdoor, screen-free camp became better at recognising emotions from facial expressions and other non-verbal cues.
More recent evidence has come from a 2025 randomised trial in PNAS Nexus, which blocked internet access on smartphones for two weeks and found improvements in mental health, wellbeing and sustained attention. Participants in that study also reported more face-to-face socialising, more exercise and more time outdoors, although the average participant was 32, making the findings less directly applicable to teenagers.
There are also signs that the Maine project is continuing to develop. A September 2026 preprint based on a small pilot sample of campers reported brain-wave changes linked with some wellbeing improvements, though it had not yet been peer reviewed and remained preliminary. Meanwhile, a large 2025 study of more than 1,200 adolescents in English schools found that stricter phone rules reduced use during school hours but did not lead to better reported mental wellbeing overall.
For now, the Maine camp study points to a broader question for families and schools: not simply whether teenagers should spend less time on devices, but what should fill the gap. In the camp setting, the answer appears to have been exercise, friendships, shared routines and a break from the pressure to be always available.
Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical judgment, advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
