Laudato Voices |13 September, 2026 | Mental Health
As Ugandan students return to school after holidays, schools and teachers face a growing challenge: helping young people move from unrestricted screen time to healthy, purposeful use of technology.
Good Use of Technology is a Mental Health Therapy
For many students, holidays come with long hours on smartphones, watching videos, gaming, scrolling through social media and chatting with friends. Returning to the structured environment of school is sometimes difficult. Some students struggle with concentration, sleep routines, face-to-face interaction and the discipline required for academic work.
This is sometimes described as “home technology syndrome.” While it is not a medical diagnosis, it captures an increasingly important concern: how excessive or unbalanced technology use can affect students’ wellbeing and learning.
The solution is not to demonise technology. Uganda is investing in digital education, and young people need digital skills to participate effectively in an increasingly digital economy (UNICEF Uganda, 2026). The priority should instead be digital balance.
Mental Health Must Be Part of the Conversation
Schools can help students make this transition through mental-health and digital-wellbeing programmes. Phone-free study periods, sports, reading, music, creative activities, counselling and meaningful peer interaction can help students reconnect with themselves and others. For Laudato Youth have been encouraged to take on Care for Creation Activities while at school.
Such programmes should teach students that taking a break from a screen is not a punishment, it is part of maintaining a healthy and productive life by being intentional with their screen time.
Parents also have an important role
Healthy technology habits should begin at home, particularly during school holidays, with reasonable limits on recreational screen time and encouragement to participate in physical, ecological, social and creative activities.
Using AI to Build, Not Replace, Young Minds
Artificial intelligence should become part of the family and school discussions. We know it presents opportunities if use well as a tool, and but we need to guide young people on how to use it responsibility. Regulated use of AI can help students to strengthen their mental capabilities and creative skills.
As a helpful tool. AI can help students refine ideas, simplify difficult concepts, explore different perspectives and improve their work. However, when students allow AI to do all the thinking (processing of ideas) and writing for them, they risk weakening the very skills education seeks to develop.
Students should therefore be encouraged to think first, use AI second, and verify always. The goal is to develop AI-assisted learners, not AI-dependent learners.
Hon. Justine Kasule Lumumba recently invited young people to explore Innovations and AI-Driven Environmental Stewardship at Laudato Si Green Festival in Jinja
Uganda’s young population represents one of the country’s greatest assets. But preparing young people for the future requires more than digital access. They need strong mental health, critical thinking, creativity, discipline and the ability to use technology responsibly.
Technology should serve the student—not control the student. And AI should expand the human mind, not replace it. n his May 2026 encyclical titled “Magnifica Humanitas” (Magnificent Humanity) and various addresses, the Pope outlines specific concerns regarding youth, technology, and well-being. Pope Leo XIV warns that artificial intelligence can harm students’ intellectual and mental development if it replaces critical thinking, human connection, and real wisdom.
“Be careful that your use of AI does not limit your true human growth,” he said. “Use it in such a way that, if it disappeared tomorrow, you would still know how to think, create, and act on your own. Remember: AI can never replace the unique gift that you are to the world.” Read More
