Screen Time in Schools Issue

In a meta-analysis published in the American Educational Research Journal that reviewed evaluations involving more than 24,000 children, educational media developed through the Ready to Learn initiative was found to have positive effects on early literacy skills, including comprehension, vocabulary and phonological awareness.

From 2003 to 2023 the share of Americans age 15 and older who were intensive readers (reading more than 20 minutes a day) declined substantially, from 22.3% to 14.6%

While only 9.5% of 15-to-24-year-olds read more than 20 minutes a day for pleasure in 2023, almost 80% spent more than 20 minutes a day engaged in screen-related activities and noncomputer games.

in 2012, she found that attention spans had shrunk—all the way down to around 75 seconds on average, she said. In research she conducted between 2014 and 2020, attention spans shrank further still—to a mere 47 seconds, on average

When you’re actively engaged with information, you’re processing it on a very deep level,” she said. “Then you’re more likely to learn it, to understand it, [and] to retain it.”

“If we continue on this trajectory, attention spans are diminished, loneliness is rising, boredom is rising, emotional intelligence decreasing, and actually our sense of purpose, according to studies, is also decreasing,

Gloria Mark, a psychologist at the University of California, Irvine, who has spent the last 30 years studying how people interact with digital technologies.

Rather than focusing on time, the Department of Education stresses the importance of active versus passive use of technology.

Those articles invariably contain rapturous descriptions of personalization, dynamism, and the future. Yet you’ll see, without fail, a field photo of kids looking like they have been dosed with a veterinary-grade tranquilizer.

Results: Handwriting activates a broader network of brain regions involved in motor, sensory, and cognitive processing. Typing engages fewer neural circuits, resulting in more passive cognitive engagement.

Scientific studies show that screen-free environments provide better conditions for children to develop relationships, concentrate, and learn to read and write. It is therefore important for digital learning aids to only be introduced in teaching at an age when they encourage, rather than hinder, pupils’ learning.

More books in schools

it will be obligatory to collect pupils’ mobile phones for the whole school day in compulsory schools, adapted primary schools, special schools, Sami schools and out-of-school centres.

There is scientific evidence that pupils in the early years of compulsory school learn best by using pens, paper and physical books. For this reason, national tests in primary school should also be analogue.

Compiled scientific empirical data and proven experience show that basic skills such as relational skills, attention and concentration, and the ability to read, write and do arithmetic, are best acquired through analogue activities in analogue environments.

In America, reading for pleasure has fallen by forty per cent in the last twenty years. In the UK, more than a third of adults say they have given up reading.

in late 2024 the OECD published a report which found that literacy levels were “declining or stagnating” in most developed countries

Because ubiquitous mobile internet has destroyed these students’ attention spans and restricted the growth of their vocabularies, the rich and detailed knowledge stored in books is becoming inaccessible to many of them

After the introduction of smartphones in the mid-2010s, global PISA scores — the most famous international measure of student ability — began to decline.

IQ, which rose consistently throughout the twentieth century (the so-called “Flynn effect”) but which now seems to have begun to fall.

The world of print is orderly, logical and rational. In books, knowledge is classified, comprehended, connected and put in its place. Books make arguments, propose theses, develop ideas.

If the reading revolution represented the greatest transfer of knowledge to ordinary men and women in history, the screen revolution represents the greatest theft of knowledge from ordinary people in history.

Research consistently shows paper reading produces better comprehension than screens

Pablo Delgado and colleagues, analyzed over 50 studies involving more than 170,000 participants and found a reliable comprehension advantage for paper

paper readers answer roughly 6-8% more comprehension questions correctly than screen readers given identical texts.

For casual reading, quick searches, or scanning for specific information, the practical difference between digital reading and print reading may be negligible. But for deep comprehension of complex material — exactly the kind of reading that matters for exams, learning, and professional development — the choice of reading medium becomes significant.

Eye-tracking studies show that screen readers make more “F-pattern” and “zigzag” scanning movements, while paper readers follow more linear paths through text

This metacognitive miscalibration means screen readers don’t realize they’re understanding less. They don’t slow down, don’t re-read, and don’t seek clarification because they feel confident. Paper readers, by contrast, more accurately assess their comprehension and adjust their reading strategies accordingly.

this only applies to expository or explanatory texts often used in schools and universities, not narrative texts. If the reading time is limited, readers also perform better on paper.

Pablo Delgado and colleagues (2018) uses 54 studies and more than 170,000 study participants between 2000 and 2017 to investigate how reading on paper vs. reading on screens affects reading comprehension. The results show that analog reading is superior to reading on a screen (g = -0.21). However, this only applies to expository or explanatory texts often used in schools and universities, not narrative texts. If the reading time is limited, readers also perform better on paper.

State screen time legislation is gaining momentum in 2026, with Alabama HB 78 and Utah HB 273 becoming the first laws to establish classroom screen time restrictions for early elementary students.

Elementary school screen time limits vary by state, ranging from complete prohibitions on digital devices in Kansas to 60-minute daily caps in Iowa and Oklahoma for grades K-5.

Parents and lawmakers are pushing for classroom screen time restrictions due to concerns about learning outcomes and social development, while ed tech companies argue that tailored technology use can enhance individualized learning.

Much of the rise in legislation surrounding classroom screen time restrictions can be attributed to parental involvement and increasing concern surrounding how ed tech is utilized throughout the school day. Most of these efforts are centered around early elementary aged children. These restrictions come as screen-free parenting is on the rise, limiting children's use of phones, TVs, tablets, and laptops in their daily lives outside of school.

The American Academy of Pediatrics doesn’t have a set time limit for screen use in schools, but it says screen time should be active and involve critical thinking activities such as coding or media and video production, not passive, like watching content for entertainment.

In 2022 in Missouri, Springfield Public Schools cut back on classroom technology for its youngest students. That same year, Santa Barbara Unified School District in California removed 1:1 devices from kindergarten and stopped sending devices home with first, second and third graders.