Education needs to adapt quickly to screen-obsessed culture

Education has a few core goals. The foremost in a free republic should be to instill the “liberal arts” into the learner, so they can develop their character and worldview in a way that preserves what’s been handed to them. Education also operates as preparation, and often certification, for one’s career. Beyond that, some may even argue that traditional schooling, where students are away from home for much of the day, gives parents the time needed to work a full-time job.

At the very least, most would say, education should make one… smarter. But alarm bells are blaring, announcing that modern childhood (some combination of parenting, schooling, and entertainment options) appears to be making children the opposite of that.

When Dr. Jared Cooney Horvath recently testified in front of Congress on the problem, it confirmed what many veteran teachers had been trying to find a nice way to say — something is not quite right with the latest batch of kids, and these screens seem to have something to do with it.

Forture Magazine’s description of Horvath’s testimony said, “Citing Program for International Student Assessment data taken from 15-year-olds around the world and other standardized tests, Horvath noted not only dipping test scores, but also a stark correlation in scores and time spent on computers in school, such that more screen time was related to worse scores. He blamed students having unfettered access to technology that atrophied rather than bolstered learning capabilities.”

In comments to the New York Post, Horvath, a former Harvard professor, said, “They’re the first generation in modern history to score lower on standardized academic tests than the one before it.”

“The Flynn effect” in cognitive science describes a trend where every 10 years we get about 3-points smarter on IQ tests, likely due to improved nutrition, medicine, and other civilizational advancements. But that progress has not only stalled but reversed for GenZ, according to Horvath.

Jonathan Haidt, another researcher who has been public about the negative effects of screens on young children, has been very focused on the effects to mental health. But the impact on academic outcomes and abilities appears to be the next stage in that discussion.

As someone with young children and who knows many other young families, I can say the experience is fairly universal. Kids report on their day centers around what screened activities they did or not get to do. Lessons are given using “Smart Boards,” the digital replacement for the chalkboard; reward time is done on iPads, which students choose even if they have an option to go outside or do another activity; and homework is done on Chromebooks, which every student needs to succeed.

Education experts I know who are involved in North Carolina district schools, as well as some at state universities and non-profits, who have seen the impact of these devices on learning report a sort of betrayal. The promises they were given about these devices being helpful tools that would elevate achievement were not only false, but the exact opposite has occurred.

Now these experts are recommending bell-to-bell bans on smart devices, the cessation of ubiquitous Chromebooks and iPads to “assist” in class or with homework.

But teachers are chiming in to say, the blame should not all be put at the feet of schools. (You can ignore this teacher’s assumption that the real problem may be capitalism. Her overall observations are still valuable.)

The current state of education. She has a point. pic.twitter.com/OfpuLdbHKi

— Johnny (@j00ny369T) March 14, 2025

So, even if they ban devices during instructional hours, the effect of constant screen time outside of class is ruining students’ ability to listen, comprehend, focus, retain information, read books at their own grade level, and many other core skills needed not just for education but to live a normal life.

And this is not just something being seen in K-12 education. Professors are sounding the alarm too. One professor’s viral Substack article led to countless other professors coming out of the woodwork to cosign his statements.

“Most of our students are functionally illiterate. This is not a joke,” he says. “No, our average graduate literally could not read a serious adult novel cover-to-cover and understand what they read. They just couldn’t do it. They don’t have the desire to try, the vocabulary to grasp what they read, and most certainly not the attention span to finish.”

He also says that a large chunk of them simply lie and cheat their way through, typically using AI to write their papers: “[T]he cheating tsunami has definitely changed what assignments I give. I can’t assign papers any more because I’ll just get AI back, and there’s nothing I can do to make it stop.”

An intern in our office recently wrote about her experience in UNC classrooms, where she says during quizzes, she frequently watches as all the laptops in front of her show two windows open — ChatGPT and the quiz — and students not even taking a second to engage with the material before copy and pasting questions from the quiz into the AI and then answers from the AI back into the quiz.

You know who isn’t having these problems? Homeschool families. Of course this is just anecdotal, from the specific families I know. But, they have a very different lifestyle. They wake up without being in a rush; do math from a workbook (well beyond their grade level); read classic literature (again, well beyond grade level); take hikes or field trips most days; and, spend the rest of their time pursuing passions like music, sports, or dance. And, importantly, the parents we know are all very intentional about not allowing much, if any, “screen time.”

Is that possible for every family in the country? Of course not. Often, even in two-parent households, there isn’t a parent that can forego an income. But it’s amazing to me how these students thrive on the key educational benchmarks by avoiding traditional schooling and spending a couple focused hours on core subjects a day.

If the point of education is to raise people who can think for themselves, are of good character, and understand the world around them, alternative education methods may show the way forward. And public schools may need to incorporate some of their strengths: like smaller size, personalized tutoring, less time in desks, little-to-no screen use, and flexible schedules.

The schools should also do their best to shake their students out of their tech-induced hypnosis. But in the end, the education of a child is the responsibility of the parents.

As Jonathan Haidt suggests, it’s impossible to shift the culture of an entire town or even a school, but if you create a small group of families who are on the same page, it’s possible to enforce healthy norms around screen use, social media, and the rest. Regardless, educators of all kinds will have to be quick on their feet to adjust to the new technologies already affecting students’ education — like iPads and AI — and be ready to adapt again for those that will soon come around the corner.

“Education needs to adapt quickly to screen-obsessed culture” was originally published on www.carolinajournal.com.