Today, kids between the ages of 2 and 12 average about five hours of daily screen time. That number jumps to nine hours a day of screen time for teenagers. This is all happening while reading and math proficiency scores stay at record low rates.
According to LadTech.com, the average spending per student on technology in the U.S. is $300-$800. This budget consists of laptops, tablets, cybersecurity, licenses and professional development.
Fox News reports that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is currently running a review of a $3 billion E-rate program to address the declining academic performance and to see if the internet services provided by the program are supporting positive educational outcomes.
Brendan Carr, FCC chairman, went on Fox News to speak more on the initiative. He said there was a time where more screens, more connectivity and no limits were seen as an “unalloyed good,” which research has now proven false.
“We're seeing research pour in now that's showing that excessive screentime is being associated with reading disabilities, with math comprehension problems, with cognitive declines, and again you can look at the rise of screens and the data showing that we're getting poor and poorer educational outcomes,” Carr says.
The chairman also commented on schools who only place restrictions on school-owned devices, thus leading student-owned devices on campus roam the internet freely.
“There are school districts that have read our law as only requiring them to put internet safety procedures on devices that the school owns, so if you bring your own device to a network supported by this program, you don't necessarily have any filters on where you can go,” Carr says.
Furthermore, he pointed out that there needs to be more transparency regarding screentime usage as parents aren’t aware of how much time their child is on the internet.
The FCC review is currently ongoing, but with the priority that Carr has placed on the issue, a final order can be expected as early as late 2026.
