Top concerns
- Screens replacing hands-on learning, paper-and-pencil work, and handwriting74% of respondents
- Impact on attention span and focus70% of respondents
- Impact on social skills and peer interaction60% of respondents
- Exposure to inappropriate content despite school filters50% of respondents
Based on 1,747 survey responses from 142 school districts
* Represents % of parents who rated at least one grade band as "Too much." Concerns and communication % are per respondent.
Geographic Breakdown
Responses by PA county
| County ↕ | Responses ↓ |
|---|---|
| Allegheny | 436 |
| Montgomery | 416 |
| Bucks | 251 |
| Chester | 181 |
| Delaware | 172 |
| Philadelphia | 115 |
| Indiana | 19 |
| Beaver | 17 |
| Westmoreland | 16 |
| Lehigh | 13 |
| Lycoming | 12 |
| Lancaster | 11 |
| Centre | 10 |
| Union | 9 |
| Butler | 8 |
| Berks | 8 |
| Dauphin | 5 |
| Luzerne | 5 |
| Northampton | 5 |
| Cumberland | 4 |
| York | 3 |
| Lackawanna | 3 |
| Pike | 3 |
| Erie | 3 |
| Elk | 3 |
| Washington | 3 |
| Carbon | 2 |
| Mercer | 2 |
| Franklin | 2 |
| Monroe | 2 |
| Lebanon | 1 |
| Lawrence | 1 |
| Susquehanna | 1 |
| Clinton | 1 |
| Potter | 1 |
| Wayne | 1 |
| Adams | 1 |
| Armstrong | 1 |
Screen Time Sentiment
How parents feel about the amount of screen time in school — by grade band
Select a grade band to see full breakdown
Counts include responses across all grade bands (K–2, 3–5, 6–8, 9–12). A parent with children in multiple bands contributes one response per band.
Concerns
Policy Preferences
Which policy changes parents would support (select all that apply)
Traditional Public vs. Private/Independent vs. Charter
How responses differ by school type
Public school
n = 1608Private school
n = 110Charter school
n = 29Parent Voices
In their own words — responses from across Pennsylvania
“My children have IEPs for ADHD. Since middle school, it’s been a battle to get them off games and YouTube. Despite the many IEP meetings, I keep hearing it’s a requirement to have a Chromebook. They are not learning. What would a child with executive function delays do… Write a paper or play Minecraft? (I’ve requested access to the game be blocked, to which it’s not.)”
“My biggest concern is school devices undermining screen time policies at home. My 5th grader exclusively has homework on her Chromebook; it's difficult to police where homework ends and YouTube time begins.”
“My daughter spends way too much time on screens at school. Much of her curriculum is screen based. She’s exhausted and unregulated when she gets home.”
“I’m very concerned about the lack of evidence of growth using ed tech vs “old school methods”. The data suggests [there] is no growth using ed tech and could argue it is creating a disconnect between student and teacher/classroom. The more we rely on AI and Ed Tech, the more detrimental to the development of our children.”
“Despite district filters and automated device usage reports sent to me, my 8th grader spends a huge amount of time playing games, watching YouTube shorts, and checking professional sports statistics while at school. When he comes home, I spend time sitting with him helping him stay on track while he gets his online school work completed.”
“My child’s first device use was at school, first inappropriate content viewed was at school, first exposure to “group chats” was at school, first opportunity for multitasking and digital distraction was at school. I felt that many of my goals as a parent were completely undermined by school-issued devices.”
“My daughter often complains that the screens “bother my eyes” and she prefers paper and pencil tests and assignments. It seems silly to deny that when her eyes hurt and the goal is student learning. If she says she learns best with paper and pencil, why not make that an option? I know that computer testing makes life easier on the admin side… but student learning experience should be the top priority.”
“I would like screens banned in elementary school ideally but at minimum a return to shared bank that they visit on a rotation. I think it’s terrible that my kids use screens more than they have gym in a week.”
“Our school district allows YouTube, which is not something our children have access to at home. Our district also uses Aristotle, however it works haphazardly. This past fall, my 12 year old came across and Ai chat site through his school issued Chromebook.”
“My 6 year old son in kindergarten told me today that “most of his friends watch YouTube on the school iPad” 6… years… old… in kindergarten.”
“Our 15 year old was a straight A student, he is now failing nearly every subject. His attention span is extremely poor and we have extraordinary difficulty setting boundaries with technology because he insists that he needs the computer for schoolwork. He will borrow extra devices from school so that even when we collect his laptop at night, he has an extra device that we’re not aware of. He gets distracted by web-based games constantly. It’s clear based on his tabs/search history that he plays games IN CLASS. He forgets to turn in tests/assignments and teachers don’t seem to notice. Technology is so pervasive; we feel trapped because even if we set rules at home, we have to allow for the access required for assignments. We tried blocking YouTube, but found that the teachers frequently linked to YouTube videos. It feels impossible.”
“We were not given an option of wanting a device. We are also responsible for any damages that may occur to said device throughout the year. Students also bring device home throughout the summer further undermining our strict no device policy at home.”
“I genuinely have no idea how much time my daughter is in her iPad every day. The school doesn’t communicate it well. We used to do screens on a regular basis at home but we have stopped because of how much ambiguity there is with her school usage.”
“My son’s teacher told us that there is no way for the school to block everything inappropriate. As parents, I feel as if the school is undoing a lot of our hard work when it comes to limiting screen time and ensuring we know what they are accessing.”
“As a parent, I am not allowed to put any monitoring software on the school device. This makes me extremely uncomfortable as my children are allowed to utilize youtube and other websites where harmful content can easily be found.”
“The programs that are intended to remediate and re-teach are all "cheatable." I’m a teacher, and students know how to "AI" answers for everything online. Also, screen-work leads to students having less pride and care for their work.”
“We are very concerned that screens are overused and that schools are not following practices that are best for children from multiple standpoints (mental, physical, social, educational, safety, ets.) The devices have restricted some parental access to their students’ work and assessments. This is a huge concern.”
“I do not think that kindergarteners should have computers or personal screen time AT ALL. Starting later (even third or fourth grade) would be better. I have looked at the “educational” programs my children use at school, and most, especially the reading apps, have no educational value at all in my opinion.”
“The School District of Philadelphia issue chromebooks to families during COVID but then kept them in place afterwards without asking families if we wanted to take that on. We’re now responsible for these devices and we don’t want to be. Additionally, the protections aren’t great and parents can’t put controls on them.”
“I’m concerned about auto-correct on Google correcting all of my son’s work before he submits it. Most of his assignments and projects are done on Google Slides. He is in high school and spends a lot of time at school using his Chromebook to watch Youtube and read the news.”
“Data privacy is my only concern. Use of third-party services are so tempting for schools that do not have the budgets or skills to build the technology they want to use or teach in-house.”
“Children are not taught how to read/write/type before being given chromebooks to use for school assignments. Kindergarteners should not have Chromebooks at all!”
About This Survey
Survey Design
The survey was designed by the PA Unplugged leadership team, drawing on professional backgrounds in education policy, research design, and survey methodology. It captures parent perspectives across multiple dimensions: screen time volume, specific concerns, school communication, and policy preferences. The survey includes both structured questions (multiple choice, rating scales) and an open-ended response field for parents to share additional concerns in their own words.
Distribution
The survey was distributed through PA Unplugged's network of local leads, who shared it with parent communities in their regions — both families connected to PA Unplugged's work and parents with no prior affiliation. It was also shared in Pennsylvania parenting groups on Facebook and relevant subreddits, and promoted through paid ads on Instagram and Facebook targeting parents in Pennsylvania. Distribution was designed to be as broad as organizational capacity allowed, but was not systematic or randomized.
Fielding Period
The survey opened on February 17, 2026 and remains open. Results on this dashboard update daily as new responses come in.