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Toys or tech?
Toy Story 5 pits a child's old toys with a new tablet that wants to monopolize her playtime.

Joanne Jacobs
Feb 221 min read


Amok time: Elementary kids' behavior is out of control, say teachers
Student misbehavior is way up, say kindergarten and first-grade teachers. More kids are unprepared to pay attention, cooperate and show respect to classmates and teachers.

Joanne Jacobs
Feb 213 min read


Parents say: Bring back pencil and paper
The anti-tech backlash is here: Parents are asking to opt their kids out of using school laptops and tablets.

Joanne Jacobs
Feb 182 min read


Bad for the brain: Kids are learning less in high-tech schools
The more time students spend on screens the less they learn, argues neuroscientist Jared Cooney Horvath.

Joanne Jacobs
Dec 7, 20252 min read


Devices are distractions: Take the tablets away
Internet-connected devices are distracting students -- not helping them learn.

Joanne Jacobs
Mar 25, 20252 min read


Go out and play: Preschools try to kick the screen habit
Young children are spending more time indoors looking at screens, less time in nature , writes Karen D'Souza on EdSource. “Outdoor...

Joanne Jacobs
Oct 20, 20242 min read


Covid stress hurt memory, 'flexible thinking' for kids and teachers, says study
Students -- and teachers -- lost reasoning, memory and executive-function skills during the pandemic. Stress? Long Covid? Screens?

Joanne Jacobs
Sep 21, 20241 min read


'We are talking 4- and 5-year-olds who are throwing chairs, biting, hitting ... '
Covid toddlers are now in school, and teachers say many are not doing very well, report Claire Cain Miller and Sarah Mervosh in the New...

Joanne Jacobs
Jul 2, 20242 min read


Teens spend 4.8 hours a day on social media, says Gallup
U.S. teenagers average 4.8 hours a day on social media apps such as YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and X (formerly Twitter),...

Joanne Jacobs
Oct 19, 20232 min read


'The Runaway Bunny' goes to college
A "dramatic mental health crisis" is challenging colleges and universities, writes Mary Dana Hinton, president of Hollins University, on...

Joanne Jacobs
Jul 15, 20232 min read


Digital danger: Screen time is stealing childhood
Screen time is very bad for kids, argues Michel Desmurget, a French neuroscientist, in Screen Damage: The Dangers of Digital Media for...

Joanne Jacobs
Mar 12, 20232 min read


TikTok sets limits for teens as mental health worries grow
Social media is a major cause of the mental illness epidemic in teen girls, argues social psychologist Jon Haidt. Fifty-seven percent of...

Joanne Jacobs
Mar 5, 20232 min read


Kids stream more, read less
The rise in screen time -- not just school closures -- is a factor in the decline in achievement, suggests Tim Daly, who runs the...

Joanne Jacobs
Nov 18, 20222 min read
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