When 17-year-old Ronin Segrest started working at Ocean Oasis Water Park and Beach Club in Wildwood, N.J., in the summer of 2025, he had long looked forward to becoming a lifeguard. He didn’t anticipate how difficult it would be to put down his cell phone during a six- to seven-hour shift.
It was “an adjustment,” he says. “I was definitely thinking about who was emailing me and what I was missing.”
Morey’s Piers, which owns and operates Ocean Oasis Water Park and various other amusement parks on the Wildwood Boardwalk, has a strict no-phone policy for employees during working hours. And with this policy, they join schools in the growing list of employers for teens who have taken a hard line against phone use.
Half of teens ages 12 to 17 spend more than four hours each day looking at screens, according to the latest poll on the subject conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. According to the CDC, teens who use screen time at higher rates for non-academic purposes are more likely to experience symptoms of depression and anxiety, among other negative effects.
Andrew Tepper, a New York-based psychotherapist, leads retreats for many of his teenage clients, where he advises them not to use cell phones. They need spaces where they are not allowed to use devices and spaces where they are free to use and have to self-regulate.
“Both experiences are essential for adolescent brain development,” he says.
Employers may be motivated to keep kids away from their phones for reasons such as safety, productivity, or improved skills, but we found that the benefits for teens may ultimately be much deeper.
“A 16-year-old kid is operating a multi-million dollar piece of equipment.”
Dennis Bexson, vice president and chief administrative officer of Morey’s Piers, has worked for the company since he was 14 years old. “My first job here was at the water park, and I used to cut people’s wristbands on their way out of the park that day,” she says.
The company says it hires about 500 young people between the ages of 14 and 19 each summer between Memorial Day and Labor Day. The company has long banned phone use for employees who keep their devices in their assigned lockers while on the job.
Ronin Segrest on duty at Ocean Oasis Water Park and Beach Club.
Provided by Morley’s Pierce
They do it for safety reasons. “A 16-year-old has developed a multimillion-dollar device that holds people upside down while they’re going 90 miles per hour,” she says. Lifeguards like Segrest also have to keep people safe on water slides and pools, but they can’t do that if they’re scrolling.
However, the phone ban was also implemented for performance and skill improvement reasons. People who work at pizza stands should automatically think, “I have to restock all my condiments,” when it’s time for a break, Bexon says. “Maybe you’re wiping down the counter or smiling at a customer walking down the boardwalk.”
“If I have my phone, I’m doing it whenever I have downtime,” she says. “I haven’t learned all the downstream steps you can take to increase your value at work.”
“It helps me focus on the task at hand.”
The summer camp industry employs more than 1 million people each year, including many teenagers and young adults, according to representatives from the American Camp Association. Many camps prohibit staff from using or carrying phones when supervising campers.
Red Arrow Camp, an all-boys overnight camp based in Woodruff, Wisconsin (and of which the late “Saturday Night Live” star Chris Farley was an alum), has always had a no-phones policy for campers. The company introduced a phone call ban for staff in 2021. This year, there were 25 cabin counselors, including 18- and 19-year-olds.
Red Arrow Camp co-counselors Dawson Senes (left) and Danny Sunto (right).
Provided by: Red Arrow Camp
Executive Director Rich Pruszynski says the camp’s three main principles are “disconnection,” “discovery,” and “development.” The goal is to help campers participate, learn new activities, and develop skills such as teamwork. Banning calls to a counselor helps model that behavior, he says.
But for younger staff, he says, the phone ban also means “being present and connected.” “This allows me to focus on the task at hand, without the distraction of clanging, ringing, or buzzing in my pocket.”
“If you’re on your phone all the time, you don’t get real dopamine.”
Young workers are feeling the effects of having their phones taken away.
It took Segrest about a month to get used to not having a cell phone, but he noticed some noticeable differences once he did. For example, not having a cell phone allows him to sit and contemplate his thoughts. “I solve problems that never happened,” he says.
It has also become easier to connect with people, customers, etc. “The biggest thing that made me realize is that if you’re constantly on your phone, you don’t get real dopamine,” he says. He found that he was much happier talking to people than texting or scrolling.
Dawson Senes, 20, was a camper at Red Arrow Camp from 2018 to 2022, and began working as a cabin counselor at age 19. His first experience with phone bans was as a teenage camper. “The loss of connection to the outside world was definitely a shock,” he says.
But he’s long gotten used to summers without cell phones, and the benefits are intuitive. “At camp, you experience a huge range of emotions,” Senes says. Cabin counselors are constantly managing the emotions of the children in their care.
Senes added that it’s much easier to distract yourself by looking at a screen and ignore your own feelings, whether at home or at school. “But when you’re here, you have to face your emotions. You have to sit with your emotions.”
At the camp, he added, “I definitely felt like I was alive.”
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