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Dumber and dumber: Americans, young and old, are slipping
Achievement is falling, and gaps are widening, for American students and adults since well before the pandemic.
Joanne Jacobs
Jan 282 min read
13 comments


Teens say: America, meh
Young Americans are less patriotic than older generations.
Joanne Jacobs
Nov 3, 20241 min read
0 comments


The anti-anxiety experiment: Friends without phones, adult-free camping
British mother persuaded teens to go smartphone-free for a month, then camp out for the weekend on their own.
Joanne Jacobs
Aug 15, 20243 min read
1 comment


No phones, no Moms, just kids playing in the park
Parents should band together to "say 'no' to smart phones and social," writes Laura Yuen in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. She dreams of...
Joanne Jacobs
Jun 23, 20242 min read
7 comments


How a middle school kicked the phone habit
Smartphones are a major classroom distraction, say nearly three-fourths of high school teachers and a third of middle school teachers in...
Joanne Jacobs
May 5, 20242 min read
0 comments

Digital addiction starts early: 30% of K-2 kids use TikTok
Young children are becoming digital addicts, hooked on fast-paced scrolling, swiping and mini-rewards designed into platforms such as...
Joanne Jacobs
May 4, 20242 min read
4 comments


Can't be bothered: Kids are absent from everything, not just school
Chronic absenteeism is way up, writes Robert Pondiscio, but kids aren't just absent from school. A disturbing number of young people are...
Joanne Jacobs
May 3, 20242 min read
3 comments


Ban TikTok, say principals: 'Social media is merciless'
In an Education Week survey, 55 percent of principals said banning TikTok would "make their jobs easier," reports Olina Banerji. TikTok...
Joanne Jacobs
Apr 4, 20242 min read
2 comments


Childhood's end
Phone-centered childhood is a disaster, writes Jonathan Haidt in The Atlantic. In the early 2010s, "adolescents in rich countries traded...
Joanne Jacobs
Mar 24, 20243 min read
1 comment


Teens love their smartphones -- but some say it's 'peaceful' to be phone-free
Seventy-two percent of teenagers say they often or sometimes feel "peaceful" when they're without their smartphones, according to a Pew...
Joanne Jacobs
Mar 13, 20242 min read
1 comment


'Smartphones are kryptonite for learning'
Schools are going phone free to remove distractions in class and encourage students to socialize in their free time, report Meg Oliver...
Joanne Jacobs
Oct 20, 20231 min read
0 comments


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
9 comments


'At lunch hour, everyone eats alone, scrolling TikTok'
But, Mom, everyone else has a smartphone. Parents are trying to say "no" to smartphones for elementary and middle schoolers, but it's...
Joanne Jacobs
May 24, 20232 min read
0 comments


Surgeon General: Social media is hazardous for your kids' health
Social media is endangering the mental health and well-being of children and adolescents, warns Surgeon General Vivek Murthy in a 19-page...
Joanne Jacobs
May 24, 20232 min read
1 comment


Study links early smartphone use with poor mental health
At what age did you get your first smartphone or tablet? The younger the age of getting the first smartphone, the worse the mental...
Joanne Jacobs
May 20, 20232 min read
0 comments


Cellphone bans spread: 'This has got to stop'
Schools across the country are banning cell phones in hopes of reducing distractions and refocusing students on academics, writes Donna...
Joanne Jacobs
May 12, 20232 min read
0 comments


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
1 comment


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
2 comments


Young, liberal and depressed: Doomers are not OK
Liberals are the most depressed among the growing number of sad teenagers, writes Matthew Yglesias on Slow Boring. Teenage girls are...
Joanne Jacobs
Mar 4, 20232 min read
5 comments


Sad girls: Social isolation predates Covid
Fifty-seven percent of teenage girls felt "persistently sad or hopeless" in 2021, reports the Centers for Disease Control. That's double...
Joanne Jacobs
Feb 18, 20231 min read
2 comments
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