Screen Time

Image of analysis of a brain and a cellphone.
Olemedia/iStock/Getty
Student Well-Being & Movement Kids’ Social Media Use Linked to Lower Reading and Memory Scores, Study Suggests
While the differences in scores are subtle, researchers say it could add up in the long term.
Lauraine Langreo, October 17, 2025
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7 min read
A collage of photos showing a diverse range of elementary students. The first photo shows two boys in a classroom setting working on laptops. Second photo on top right shows a young girl looking at something on her cellphone, the next photo is a young boy at home on his living room floor, wearing headphones and looking at his tablet. The last photo in the bottom right corner show the back of a young girl in her home watching tv. The tv screen is blurred.
Getty
Classroom Technology Q&A One Teacher's Take and Research on the Screen-Time Debate
New report addresses concerns about kids' screen time in school.
Lauraine Langreo, October 14, 2025
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5 min read
A stylized, faceless student has a smooth, open head with a glowing smartphone rising from it, symbolizing the smart phone and social media's impact on NAEP scores.
Vanessa Solis/Education Week + Getty Images
Standards & Accountability Opinion Student Test Scores Keep Falling. What’s Really to Blame?
There’s strong circumstantial evidence pointing to a particular culprit. (Hint: It’s not the pandemic.)
Martin R. West, September 9, 2025
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5 min read
Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, speaks during the Democratic National Convention on Aug. 22, 2024, in Chicago.
Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers, speaks during the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. She resigned from the DNC this summer over its need to broaden its focus, and urged teachers' unions to reach out to educators with diverse views.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
Teaching Profession Q&A AFT’s Randi Weingarten on Kids' Screen Time, AI, and Engaging Conservatives
The head of the American Federation of Teachers discusses political and technological challenges for teachers.
Sarah D. Sparks, July 28, 2025
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5 min read
A kindergartener in a play-based learning class prepares for outdoor forest play time at Symonds Elementary School in Keene, N.H. on Nov. 7, 2024.
A kindergartner in a play-based learning class prepares for outdoor forest play time at Symonds Elementary School in Keene, N.H., on Nov. 7, 2024. Across the country, kindergartners are struggling with self-regulation.
Sophie Park for Education Week
Early Childhood ‘Crying, Yelling, Shutting Down’: There’s a Surge in Kindergarten Tantrums. Why?
Educators are reporting a surge in the number of kindergartners coming to school unable to regulate their emotions. What's going on?
Elizabeth Heubeck, July 25, 2025
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6 min read
Photo collage of teenage girl using social media on cellphone.
Georgijevic / E+
Student Well-Being & Movement How Old Kids Are When They Get Their First Phone, According to a New Survey
The survey collected insights on smartphone use, social media habits, cyberbullying, and more among 11- to 13-year-olds.
Caitlynn Peetz Stephens, July 17, 2025
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3 min read
A teacher and student have opposite perspectives on cellphone use in school.
Danny Allison for Education Week
Science From Our Research Center Students Don't Think Cellphones Distract Them From Learning STEM. Teachers Disagree
New surveys of teens and teachers show how far apart the two groups are on this issue.
Arianna Prothero, May 27, 2025
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4 min read
Image of a female leaping over data bars.
iStock/Getty
Student Well-Being & Movement Download Students Who Move More, Learn More (DOWNLOADABLE)
Schools and families can boost student success by reducing screen time and promoting movement throughout the day. This is what a physically active student may look like.
Laura Baker & Gina Tomko, March 6, 2025
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1 min read
A duotone photograph of a group of elementary students sitting together and looking at their cellphones
Canva
Classroom Technology Here's How Many Elementary Students Have Their Own Cellphones and Tablets
The use of cellphones and tablets by young children in school raises concerns about too much screen time.
Arianna Prothero, February 26, 2025
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5 min read
Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy sits for an interview with the Associated Press, inside his parents' home, July 16, 2024, near Miami, Fla.
Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy sits for an interview with the Associated Press, inside his parents' home on July 16, 2024, near Miami, Fla. Murthy said during an AASA webinar Thursday that schools can help kids cut back on their social media use, but the responsibility can't entirely fall to educators.
Rebecca Blackwell/AP
Student Well-Being & Movement How to Get Kids Off Social Media: 2 Tips From the Surgeon General
Schools can help kids use social media less, but federal action is needed to rein in social media companies, the nation's top doctor says.
Caitlynn Peetz Stephens, October 17, 2024
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5 min read
Photograph of a culturally diverse group of teens in circle holding cellphones phones. The photo is shot from the ground looking up at them.
iStock/Getty
Student Well-Being & Movement How Many Teens Use Social Media Every Day? New Federal Data Gives an Answer
Social media is often called out as one of the driving factors of the youth mental health crisis.
Lauraine Langreo, August 16, 2024
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2 min read
Illustration
F. Sheehan for Education Week + Getty
Classroom Technology Then & Now How the 'Sexting' Panic Previewed Today's Debate About Kids' Cellphone Use
As technology evolves, one axiom stays the same: Schools must help students weigh how to responsibly fit it into their lives.
Evie Blad, July 30, 2024
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7 min read
Mitchell Rutherford, who taught biology at Sahuaro High School in Tucson, Ariz., left the profession due, in part, to students' cell phone usage. Here, pictured at Finger Rock Trailhead in Tucson on June 8, 2024.
Mitchell Rutherford, who taught biology at Sahuaro High School in Tucson, Ariz., left the profession due, in part, to students' cell phone usage. Here, pictured at Finger Rock Trailhead in Tucson on June 8, 2024.
Cassidy Araiza for Education Week
Teaching Profession In Their Own Words Cellphones Turned My Teaching Career From 'Awesome' to Exhausting
A former high school teacher shares how his students' increasing reliance on cellphones drove him out of the classroom.
Elizabeth Heubeck, June 10, 2024
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5 min read
Lisa Still 1 BS
Student Well-Being & Movement Video A Clinical Psychologist Offers Tips on Healthy Tech Use for Students
There’s a disconnect between parents and schools over who should take ownership of students’ tech use.
Kevin Bushweller & Lauren Santucci, March 25, 2024
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