Social Media

Distraction or learning tool? Learn more about how social media is used by students, teachers, and school systems
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Secretary of Health and Human Services, shakes hands with the organizers of the event at the Hubert Humphrey Building in Washington on Sept. 1, 2026.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Secretary of Health and Human Services, shakes hands with the organizers of an event focused on the harms of student screen time at the Hubert Humphrey Building in Washington on Sept. 1, 2026. The symposium is part of HHS’s Live Real Life campaign, a national effort aimed at helping families, schools, and communities reduce harmful screen use and create more opportunities for children to engage in real-world experiences.
Sarah L. Voisin For Education Week
Ed-Tech Policy RFK Jr. Calls for Children to Have 'Less Screen Time and More Real Life'
Speakers at an event hosted by the Department of Health and Human Services discuss the harms of student screen time, and possible solutions.
Jennifer Vilcarino, September 1, 2026
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4 min read
Attorney's representing multiple states pose for a photograph outside court after after tech giant Meta reached a settlement to end a landmark trial over teen social media addiction in Oakland, Calif., Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026.
Attorneys representing multiple states pose for a photograph outside a federal court in Oakland, Calif., after after tech giant Meta reached a settlement to end a landmark trial over teen social media addiction on Aug. 26, 2026. The settlement terms and payments could have major effects on students and schools, according to legal and technology experts.
Noah Berger/AP
Student Well-Being & Movement Billions Will Flow to States Through Meta Settlement. Will Schools Benefit?
Schools could share in the payout. Meta's design feature changes could also help, experts say.
Arianna Prothero, August 28, 2026
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7 min read
Image of careers like welding, electricians, carpenters, and technicians
Canva
College & Workforce Readiness Can Social Media Influencers Hook Teens on the Skilled Trades?
Skilled trades jobs are in demand. Young skilled trades pros/influencers pique teens' interest.
Elizabeth Heubeck, August 19, 2026
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3 min read
A student checks their cellphone after classes end for the day at Oak-Land Middle School in Lake Elmo, Minnesota on Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025 . Oak-Land is part of the Stillwater Area Public Schools District , where officials decided in March to adopt a phone-free school day policy starting this school year. All schools in the district, which started their school year this week, are phone- and device-free for all students pre-K to 12 from the first bell of the day until the last. The new policy, which covers phones, earbuds, smartwatches and other personal devices, applies to instructional time, lunch periods, recess, school-sponsored programs, events or activities, or any other time during the designated school day.
A student checks a cellphone after classes end at Oak-Land Middle School in Lake Elmo, Minn., on Aug. 20, 2025. Psychologists see lots of downsides to the overuse of technology among adolescents.
John Autey / Pioneer Press via TNS
Student Well-Being & Movement How Growing Up in a Digital World Affects Kids' Academic and Social Skills
Psychologists weigh the benefits and drawbacks of adolescents' tech use.
Lauraine Langreo, August 19, 2026
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4 min read
Top View of an Elementary School Classroom: Children Sitting at their School Desks Using Personal Computers and Digital Tablets for Assignments.
iStock/Getty Images Plus
Curriculum Digital Literacy Isn't a One-Off Lesson. How Teachers Can Build Students' Skills
The ability to navigate the torrent requires social-emotional skill, not just fact-checking, a researcher says.
Arianna Prothero, June 29, 2026
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4 min read
Gabriela Durham, 17, uses her phone to listen to music inside her room on Saturday, Jan. 27, 2024, in New York. Concerns about children and phone use are not new. But there is a growing realization among experts that the COVID-19 pandemic fundamentally changed the relationship kids have with social media. As youth coped with isolation and spent excessive time online, the pandemic effectively carved out a much larger space for social media in the lives of American children.
Gabriela Durham, 17, uses her phone to listen to music inside her room on Saturday, Jan. 27, 2024, in New York. A report shows how parents feel about their teens' social media use and an expert comments on what schools can do with the information.
Andres Kudacki/AP
Families & the Community Q&A How Parents See Students' Social Media Habits: Why it Matters for Educators
The Pew Research Center shows parents have increasing concern over their teens' social media usage.
Jennifer Vilcarino, June 2, 2026
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5 min read
Image of a teen consuming news on their mobile phone.
Collage by Laura Baker/Education Week with Canva
Social Studies Teens Are Skeptical of the News. Does That Offer Learning Opportunities for Schools?
Many young people get their news from social media, a habit that has downstream implications.
Jennifer Vilcarino, May 14, 2026
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4 min read
Photo collage of three diverse teens looking at their phones with social apps ghosted in dark blue background
Collage by Gina Tomko/Education Week + Canva
Student Well-Being & Movement What SEL Can Do to Help Kids Manage Their Online Lives
It's important to show students how social media can be helpful and harmful.
Arianna Prothero, April 30, 2026
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4 min read
Images from an influencer's reel.
Images courtesy of thekid.maddie
School & District Management Can Student Influencers Help This District Rebuild Enrollment?
A district hopes that student influencers can bring a more authentic voice to its marketing push.
Caitlynn Peetz Stephens, April 29, 2026
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5 min read
A class portrait session at a New York City middle school.
A New York City middle school holds a class portrait session on May 5, 2021. The school photo giant Lifetouch this past winter found itself swept up in viral social media rumors about an alleged connection to the financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Michael Loccisano/Getty
School & District Management Q&A How a School Photo CEO Dealt With a Jeffrey Epstein Conspiracy Theory
Lifetouch's CEO discusses the company's response to social media rumors alleging ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
Caitlynn Peetz Stephens, April 21, 2026
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7 min read
EdWeek Toxic Mix of Social Media and AI
Taylor Callery for Education Week
Artificial Intelligence Schools Play Game of Media Literacy Catch-Up as AI Use Rises
Students are now seeing more AI-generated social media content that is problematic.
Jennifer Vilcarino, April 20, 2026
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6 min read
Young people making posts, writing social network publications. Modern media influencer, poster & blogger man and woman using mobile phones app concept.
Education Week + iStock
Ed-Tech Policy Opinion We’re Finally Holding Tech Accountable for Harming Teens. What Happens Next?
For young people, mitigating the risks of social media isn’t as simple as just logging off.
Kaya Henderson, April 8, 2026
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5 min read
A document that was included in the U.S. Department of Justice release of the Jeffrey Epstein files, photographed Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026, shows a photo of Epstein on a inmate report from the Federal Bureau of Prisons .
A document included in the U.S. Department of Justice release of the Jeffrey Epstein files, shown in a Feb. 10, 2026, photograph. A social media-fueled controversy drawing a shaky connection between the sex offender and a major school photo company used by 50,000 schools has led to calls for school districts to reexamine their use of the company.
Jon Elswick/AP
School & District Management Epstein and School Photos? How a Social Media Controversy Pulled in K-12 Districts
Districts have had to respond to a social-media fueled controversy about the sex offender and financier.
Caitlynn Peetz Stephens, March 4, 2026
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6 min read
High school students eat lunch in the cafeteria on Dec. 5, 2025, in Spokane, Wash. While most states are banning cellphone use in school, one Connecticut district is pushing lawmakers to turn down a statewide ban.
High school students eat lunch in the cafeteria on Dec. 5, 2025, in Spokane, Wash., while looking at their phones. While most states have passed restrictions on student cellphone use in school, leaders in one Connecticut district want their state lawmakers to turn down a statewide, "bell-to-bell" ban.
Kaylee Domzalski/Education Week
Ed-Tech Policy These School Leaders Don’t Want a Statewide Cellphone Ban. Here's Why
As lawmakers consider a student cellphone ban, leaders of one district want to set their own policy.
Caitlynn Peetz Stephens, February 23, 2026
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3 min read