A Digital Childhood
Introduction
Children in the United States are growing up in a media ecosystem that is drastically different than that of most adults. This generation of kids have been afforded widespread, consistent, largely unregulated access to the internet via personal devices. Much of the national conversation over children’ s media has revolved around cell phone use in K-12 schools. Children gain access to screen media long before receiving their first cell phone, however. Educators, parents, and K-12 leaders must recognize that these digital childhoods can have effects on teaching practice, student behavior, and the school-to-home relationship. It is also necessary to remember, however, that the kind of media that children consume is often more important than the format in which it is presented.
Ubiquity of Screens Amongst Young Children
Young children in the United States (ages 0-8), despite their age, are often given access to screen-based devices for both education and entertainment purposes. These devices may come in the form of televisions, video game systems (like Nintendo Switch), or even laptop and desktop computers. The most common form of screen for children, however, is the tablet computer. These devices have permeated both educational and non-educational spaces. According to Common Sense Media (2025), by age four, fifty-eight percent of children have a tablet computer. These tablets can be used for a variety of functions, but are commonly used to play games or watch videos. Despite their age, children can also use these computers to access social media sites (specifically, YouTube) (Auxier et al., 2020). Parents can have a tendency to rely on these devices as conflict resolution tools despite recognizing the potential dangers of overreliance (Chong et al., 2023).
The Screen Time Continuum
On its own, screen time as a form of entertainment does not present any explicit harm, especially if it is used with balance and intention. Harm may present itself, though, if the activities are not developmentally appropriate or if they are designed in response to the developer’s monetary incentives. Often, digital entertainment for children will present the user with a bevy of targeted advertisements. This structure gives developers a reason to keep users repeatedly engaged for long periods of time (Larche et al., 2016). The medium is not necessarily the problem, it’s the way that the medium is used by developers. In response, families should be thoughtful about the kinds of activities that they engage with on their screens. For instance, a digital logic puzzle (e.g. Pine Studios’ Escape Simulator*), while still a video game, is far more challenging (and ad-free) than mobile games like Candy Crush*. In the same vein, talking to a loved one over FaceTime does not present the same dangers as scrolling social media because it requires deep and consistent socio-emotional engagement from the user while also negating the use of content generation algorithms designed to hook users.
School-to-Home Connection/Finding a Balance
Parents may have concerns over their child’s use of EdTech in their public school partially because they have concerns over use in the home. Rather than explicitly pushing back on that rhetoric, it would benefit K-12 educators to meet families where they are and attempt to build a strong home-to-school connection. Families want to trust that teachers use screens thoughtfully, intentionally, and with balance. Consistent engagement with families over the use of EdTech, combined with practical and specific guidance on how technology may be used in the home, may simultaneously appease parent concerns while also building long-term trust in K-12 institutions.
Conclusion
Though educators are not directly responsible for how screens are used in their students’ homes, they are responsible for navigating how those home behaviors manifest in classroom settings. Though screens and personal devices are wonderful tools for entertainment, families should remain thoughtful about the kinds of entertainment they make available to children (especially at young ages). Parents and guardians can affect change not just by making clear and consistent home policies surrounding technology use, but by modeling thoughtful use themselves. Much like EdTech, digital entertainment can be exciting, relaxing, and intriguing when used as a supplement to a life rich with a variety of experiences.
* CoSN is vendor neutral and does not endorse products or services. Any mention of a specific solution is for contextual purposes.
Citations
Auxier, B., Anderson, M., Perrin, A., & Turner, E. (2020). Parental views about YouTube. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2020/07/28/parental-views-about-youtube/
Chong, S. C., Teo, W. Z., & Shorey, S. (2023). Exploring the perception of parents on children’s screentime: A systematic review and meta-synthesis of qualitative studies. Pediatric Research, 94(3), 915–925. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41390-023-02555-9
Common Sense Media. (2025). Media use by kids zero to eight. https://www.commonsensemedia.org/sites/default/files/research/report/2025-common-sense-census-web-2.pdf
Larche, C. J., Musielak, N., & Dixon, M. J. (2016). The candy crush sweet tooth: How ‘near-misses’ in candy crush increase frustration, and the urge to continue gameplay. Journal of Gambling Studies, 33(2), 599–615. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-016-9633-7
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.
Read Blog One in the series: “What Does ‘Screen Time’ Mean, Anyway?”
Read Blog Two in the series: Children, Screens, and Parent Perspectives
Read Blog Three in the series: Cell Phones, Schools, and Solutions
Read Blog Four in the series: Performance Without Paper
