The young people at Yes We Can have become stuck in life. Within themselves. In their minds. In society. At the clinic, they work hard every day on their recovery, but they all share one thing: for ten weeks, they have no phone.
No social media. No endless scrolling to numb their thoughts. No constant comparison with others online. That sounds like a huge challenge – especially as the number of young people coming to Yes We Can with a social media addiction or screen addiction has doubled in recent years. But what we see within the walls of our clinic tells a different story. Without phones and social media, space is created. Space for genuine connection and for reconnecting with what is really going on inside. The sense of calm that young people (called fellows at Yes We Can) experience is greater than they ever expected. At Yes We Can, they discover that they do not need their phone to prove themselves. That real connection does not happen through a screen, and that recovery begins when the noise falls away.
That this is not an isolated picture is also reflected in Dutch figures. The annual social media study by research agency Newcom shows that 2.5 million people in the Netherlands feel less happy because of social media, and that more than 7 million see social media as a threat to mental health. Strikingly, it is Gen Z in particular that is increasingly calling for regulation themselves. By now, 60% are in favour of a ban on social media for young people – not because they are against technology, but because they feel it demands too much of them.
“Without social media, I live much more in the moment and no longer constantly compare myself to others.” – Former fellow Selina.
Former fellow Selina knows what it feels like when social media takes over your life and your world becomes smaller and smaller. For her, it was an escape – a closed bubble in which she did not have to feel anything. While others turned to alcohol or drugs to unwind, Selina scrolled for hours. “On TikTok, I saw girls I thought were much prettier than me. If they wore certain clothes or used specific make-up, I would immediately go out and buy it too. I did everything just to fit in.” At Yes We Can, Selina learned to live in the moment again. As soon as she deleted her social media, the constant comparing disappeared. Only then did she realise how much calm it brought her.
Psychiatrist Joris Vangeneugden also sees first-hand in the clinic the impact social media has. “I ask every fellow, both at the beginning and at the end of their treatment, whether they miss their smartphone. By now, I’ve asked this question to hundreds of fellows, and so far no one has missed their smartphone or social media. At Yes We Can, young people form genuine connections. When that authenticity or real connection is present, there is absolutely no need for artificial connection through social media. This kind of connection is far more valuable than anything a screen can offer.”
Perhaps the solution does not lie in a ban, but in awareness. In daring to pause and reflect on what social media does to young people – and what happens when it falls away for a while. At Yes We Can, we see every day that young people grow stronger when the noise disappears. When space is created to feel, to connect, and to choose a new direction. Offline, to truly reconnect with themselves.
