What Does “Screen Time” Mean, Anyway?

K-12 educators are currently operating within a feverous cultural conversation over technological ubiquity and screen time. This cultural conversation is expansive and can be overwhelming. When someone refers to “screen time,” they may be speaking of television, social media, cell phone addictions, or, importantly, technology use during classroom instruction. Though these topics share a connective tissue, they should not be conflated. Parents/caregivers and policymakers, in their concern over both screen time and public education writ large, may not instinctively understand the importance of separating their terms and specifying our home-to-school discourse. In the coming academic year, strong differentiation in K-12 messaging may curb some of the conflicts between schools and their communities. 

Educators at the classroom, school, and district level should work to help the community differentiate between the varying definitions of “screen time” that manifest in their classrooms. These manifestations may be separated into three categories: cell phones/social media, educational technologies (EdTech), and screens for at-home leisure. Though distinct, these categories are all highly relevant to those working in twenty-first century public education. Understanding how these categories impact children/students will help educators navigate conversations around screen use in the coming academic years. 

Cell Phones/Social Media

Cell phones and social media may be the most pertinent focus of our national conversation on screen use. All around the country, schools, states, and districts are enacting cell phone bans designed to increase student attention spans and foster meaningful academic engagement. As of July 2025, thirty-six states (and Washington, DC) have enacted new legislation banning, restricting, or disincentivizing cell phone use in the classroom (EdWeek, 2025). In a rare example of national unity, bans have, for the most part, been well received by lawmakers, constituents, and educators, despite some unpopularity with students and parents.

Outside of education, parents and caregivers have shown increased concern over the ways that cell phones affect childrens’ socio-emotional and cognitive development. Time will tell if school bans are able to curb some of the long-term threats that cell phones pose to young people (see also: Navigating Student Cell Phone Use in K-12 Schools; Whose Call: A Student-Driven Approach to School Cell Phone Policies). 

EdTech

The COVID-19 pandemic served as a catalyst for schools and districts to ramp up their use of EdTech. Schools that had strategically fully not gone one-to-one (i.e., each student has their own device) were suddenly forced to purchase and use a slate of new hardware and software. Now, in 2025, most schools in the U.S. operate on a one-to-one model (see: CoSN’s 2025 State of EdTech Leadership). 

This model, if used thoughtfully, has the potential to supplement and enhance in-person learning in exciting and pragmatic ways. Teachers may use EdTech devices and programs to differentiate their instruction, teach important technological skill sets, and increase the engagement of differently-abled learners. Too much time on these devices, though, may hinder a student’s growth (Kirkorian, 2024), so it is vital that teachers understand how to WEAVE EdTech into their classrooms, not rely on it in lieu of other strong pedagogical practices. It is important to communicate the instructional value of these strategies to families and community members. 

Screens for At-Home Entertainment

Though educators have limited influence on a family’s use of technologies on a day-to-day basis, they still have an opportunity to sway attitudes towards screen use in the home. Like cell phone use, excessive and unrestricted time on screens may affect a young child’s socio-emotional and cognitive development. Despite this, modern parents and caretakers still often use screens as babysitting tools. Video game systems (such as the Nintendo Switch), tablet computers, and televisions have the opportunity to affect a child long before they get their first cell phone. Like educators, it is vital that parents and caretakers remain thoughtful and targeted as they introduce digital media to their children. These early experiences may shape a child’s relationship to educational technologies once they reach grade school.

Next Steps

The Consortium for School Networking is committed to fostering a pragmatic conversation on screen use in K-12 education. In the coming weeks, several more posts will be published that will highlight the three manifestations of children’s screen use that we have listed above. Educators and families alike may benefit from this more nuanced discussion of screens and technologies for children. 

Author: Cooper Sved, 2025 Blaschke Fellow

This blog is part of a series preceding the publication of the 2025 Blaschke Report, which will be released in September 2025. Click here to learn more about the Charles Blaschke Fund.

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To Ban or Not to Ban: Tackling Cell Phones in Classrooms