Alabama Mental Health Commissioner Kim Boswell discussed a range of issues with state lawmakers during an informal budget hearing on Wednesday, including a national topic – the alarming increase in mental illness striking teens.

Boswell cited information from the book, “The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness,” by Jonathan Haidt. That included charts showing a sharp rise in the percentage of teens suffering from depression and in visits to hospital emergency rooms because of self-harm.

Public health experts blame the trend on the heavy use of social media by teens to replace in-person activities with their friends.

“Kids are losing their social skills,” Boswell said. “They don’t know how to interact with people because they’re used to being in front of their phone all the time.”

Boswell cited a 2023 report by U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy that said adolescents who spend more than three hours a day on social media face double the risk of anxiety and depression symptoms.

Boswell, again citing Haidt’s book, listed some recommendations for reversing the trends. Those include a ban or restrictions on students using cellphones in public schools, an idea that appears to have growing support in Alabama.

Other recommendations are to not allow children to have smartphones before high school and to prohibit the use of social media until after age 16.

“There’s some developmental issues that if you let them do that earlier they’re not really prepared for what they’re seeing on social media and how they’re engaging in social media,” Boswell told the gathering of about 10 legislators at the State House.

“There’s been a lot of research. We’re just now really learning the impact of social media,” Boswell said.

Florida banned the use of cellphones during instructional time in 2023. Alabama State Superintendent Eric Mackey is encouraging legislators to consider restrictions because he said getting students off cellphones reduces discipline problems. Montgomery Public Schools banned the use of cellphones last year, and the Mobile County school system is planning to impose restrictions this year.

While lawmakers and school officials can adopt policies that help, Boswell acknowledged that it is up to parents to protect their children’s mental health by limiting their exposure to social media.

“I think you have to convince parents that it’s not the best thing for kids to have access to phones all the time,” Boswell said. “To go back to some of the things that we used to do. Getting them engaged in sports. Getting them engaged in activities playing with other kids, connecting with other kids.”

Sen. Greg Albritton, R-Atmore, and Rep. Rex Reynolds, R-Huntsville, chairmen of the General Fund committees in the House and Senate, led the informal hearings this week.

In addition to Boswell, Alabama Law Enforcement Agency Secretary Hal Taylor gave a presentation on Wednesday. The Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Public Health made presentations on Tuesday.

Boswell’s presentation included an update on Alabama’s Crisis System of Care, an initiative developed over about the last four years that is not yet complete. The system includes crisis centers in Huntsville, Mobile, Birmingham, Montgomery, and Tuscaloosa, plus a sixth scheduled to open soon in Dothan.

The purpose of the centers is to help people experiencing a mental health episode or crisis, providing stabilization, short-term care, and referrals.

Since May 2021, the centers have cared for more than 12,000 patients, according to Boswell’s presentation, including more than 8,000 who otherwise would have gone to hospital emergency rooms and more than 2,000 who would have gone to jail if the centers were not available.

Funding for the centers is about $7 million a year. Boswell said the state eventually needs 11 centers.

Mobile crisis teams are intended to serve the areas not close to one of the urban crisis centers. Alabama has 14 mobile teams covering 25 counties, with an eventual need for 23 teams.

As part of the Crisis System of Care, Alabama has also five call centers for the 988 suicide and crisis lifeline, part of a national initiative. The centers have received 63,000 calls and another 30,000 texts or chats since 2022, according to Boswell’s presentation.

Reynolds said lawmakers need to consider finding a dedicated funding source for the crisis system of care and any future expansion of it.