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Snapshot 6:Tue, Sep 29, 2026 3:54:04 PM GMT last edited by KateHennig

Screen Time Linked to Worse Grades, Mental Health in Kids

Screen Time Linked to Worse Grades, Mental Health in Kids

Screen Time Linked to Worse Grades, Mental Health in Kids
Above: Children using digital tablets. Image credit: BSIP/Contributor/Universal Images Group/Getty Images

The Spin


Handing kids devices all day has been a costly experiment, and the damage now rivals what poverty or rough parenting does to a child's development. Schools that cling to individual laptops are trading real learning for distraction, cyberbullying and anxiety, with nothing to show for it. Pencils, paper and hard limits on classroom screens deserve a comeback.

Blaming screens for every struggling kid mistakes a small correlation for a cause and lets the real culprits off the hook. What matters is what gets crowded out — sleep, exercise and time with friends — not whether a device is in the room. Timing and type of use matter far more than blanket bans that treat educational tools and endless scrolling as the same thing.

© 2026 Improve the News Foundation. All rights reserved.Version 7.4.1

© 2026 Improve the News Foundation.

All rights reserved.

Version 7.4.1