What Students Are Saying About Screens in School

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current events conversation

What Students Are Saying About Screens in School

Teenagers react to New York Times reporting that shows technology has become ingrained in classrooms since the pandemic.

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Sixth graders learning math in San Luis, Ariz. Survey respondents said middle and high schoolers often spent three hours or more a day online.

Credit...

Ariana Drehsler for The New York Times

By

The Learning Network

April 2, 2026,

2:24 p.m. ET

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Welcome to

Current Events Conversation

, where each week we round up some of our favorite responses to one of our

student writing prompts

.

Last fall, The New York Times

surveyed 350 teachers

around the country about technology use in the classroom. They found that devices have become ingrained in classrooms since the pandemic, with most students, of all ages, now learning on computers or tablets during the school day.

We asked students:

Is there too much screen time in school?

Teenagers, like teachers, saw important benefits and big drawbacks to learning on laptops. Some said they were more organized and efficient in this hyper-connected era. Others longed to return to a time of face-to-face teaching, in-person group projects and paper-and-pencil assignments. In the end, they called for a more balanced and intentional approach to how technology is deployed in the classroom.

Thank you to everyone who joined the conversation this week, including students from

Boston Latin School

in Boston

and

Thomas A. Edison Career and Technical Education High School in Queens, N.Y.

Please note: Comments have been edited and condensed.

The majority of students reported that learning with a device is the new normal.

Digital devices are a huge part of learning in my classes. On a typical school day, I probably spend around 4-6 hours on a screen, whether it’s a laptop or tablet. Most of that time goes toward taking notes, completing assignments, doing research, and sometimes collaborating with classmates online. It’s rare to have a class that doesn’t involve technology in some way.

—

Jolie, Fountain Valley High School

Digital devices, especially in my school and all around NYC district, are a key part of learning in class. I would say for almost more than half of my classes require to use some sort of device whether laptop, Chromebook, etc., to get work done. I see myself and other students mainly using them most for projects, studying, homework, classwork, as many teachers opt to assign things on Google Classroom rather than handing out physical paper copies.

—

Sumiya, Thomas A. Edison CTE HS

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