Students learn less when they use tech. So why do schools keep giving kids devices? | CNN

Kara Alaimo is a professor of communication at Fairleigh Dickinson University and advises parents, students and teachers on how to manage screen time. Her book “Over the Influence: Why Social Media Is Toxic for Women and Girls — And How We Can Take It Back” was published in 2024. A parent recently told me she’s struggling to get her otherwise well-behaved and academically successful daughter to attend class. Her daughter is regularly late or absent, she complained, and her mom fears her daughter might not graduate high school and have her college admission rescinded. What’s going on? Her mom, who encourages making mindful choices about technology at home, thinks using technology at school is leaving her daughter stressed and exhausted. Human beings have evolved to interact with one another, use our bodies and be outdoors — not stare at screens all day, she pointed out. She’s just one of the many parents telling me they’re concerned about what screens in schools are doing to their kids. The vast majority of US public schools — 88% — now issue devices to every student, according to a 2025 National Center for Education Statistics survey. My own town’s public scho