Thank goodness the hospital I use keeps a pretty full schedule of classes, groups, activities going all the time. They aren't required, but they sure help, if nothing else, break the monotony. Actually many of them are quite good -- varies from presenter to presenter. Last time I was in they had even started having therapy dogs come in twice a week which was marvelous.

As far as the technology goes, besides the safety factor in my hospital which doesn't have the set up to separate suicidal/SI patients from those that aren't a danger to themselves, one of the main rationales for not having access to cell phones, etc. is that so much of the time, what patients need is a break from the people in their lives that are so dysfunctional for them. Patients don't need their abusive spouse or their boss or their drug dealer (it's a dual diagnosis unit so that is a distinct possibility) able to contact them easily (or visa versa) and cause more stress than they already are having. And of course there is a problem of cameras and privacy/confidentiality needing to be maintained which is a major concern. No one can contact a patient without their permission. Patients have to give a code to those they allow to call or visit them. No code; no contact.