Cambridge, Mass. -- September 8, 2026 -- Cartwheel, the largest school-centered telehealth provider in the U.S., has launched a Screens & Social Media Program to treat students whose sleep, mental health, and school performance are disrupted by digital device use.
Cartwheel clinicians identify escalating digital-stress patterns across nearly 400 school districts
The company reports clinicians have observed students losing sleep to phones, escalating family conflict over screen time, and social media reshaping how kids perceive themselves and peers. The program, in development since spring, was built to move beyond blanket screen-time limits toward individualized clinical treatment.
Program bundles assessment, therapy, and psychiatric care under one clinical track
Services require parent or guardian consent and include targeted screening for digital stress, individual and family therapy, optional psychiatric evaluation or medication support for acute anxiety cases, and caregiver groups focused on reducing household conflict. Care is delivered by licensed therapists and child psychiatrists on Cartwheel's existing care team.
"During my years at Boston Public Schools, I saw how phones and social media could disrupt a student's sleep, their friendships, their ability to sit through a class," said Jillian Kelton, Senior Director at Cartwheel. "We don't just tell families to cut back — we assess what's actually happening for that student and build a real treatment plan around it."
Launch follows multistate Meta settlement worth up to $17.1 billion tied to youth online safety
The rollout coincides with new state and federal investment in youth mental health and online safety policy, including the multistate Meta settlement, with states now weighing how proceeds can fund related work. Cartwheel previously convened a national conversation on phone-free schools in 2025 with author Jonathan Haidt, Governor Kathy Hochul, and Indiana Secretary Katie Jenner, and ran a "My Amazing Summer" Challenge this spring to reduce student screen time.
New program joins Care portfolio reporting 58% anxiety remission and 62% fewer absences
Screens & Social Media becomes Cartwheel's newest Care Program alongside School Avoidance and Big Behaviors, Big Feelings. Across its broader care model, the company reports 58% of students with anxiety achieve full remission, moderate-to-severe depression cases drop threefold, absences fall 62%, and suspensions among students with prior disciplinary history fall 68%.