A New Study Found That Teens Spend Over 1 Hour Of The School Day On Their Phones

Parents aren’t so naive to think that their screen-addicted teens (“screenagers,” as my mom calls my 17-year-old siblings) aren’t sneaking glances at their phone throughout the school day. But now a new study has revealed just how much time students spend scrolling, and the numbers might come as a surprise.

The study, published last week in JAMA Pediatrics, found that teens spend 1.5 hours of the 6.5-hour school day on their phones — and 25% of the teens studied logged phone usage of 2 hours or more.

Messaging and social media — in particular, Instagram — were the greatest drivers of phone usage, followed by video streaming, audio, and email.

The research firm Ipsos recruited students aged 13 to 18 from across the United States for this study. These students installed the RealityMeter app on their smartphones, which measured and reported their phone and app usage over 2 or more weekdays.

This researchers hoped to gain a more accurate reading of students’ smartphone habits using this tracking method.

"Mostly we rely on anecdotes and self-report of when and how much time people use [smartphones] during the school day," Lauren Hale, the study’s main author, told ABC News.

The results showed that half of students used there phones for at least 66 minutes over the course of the school day, an increase from a previous study of only Android users, which showed a median of 43 minutes.

There are certainly some benefits to students having access to phones — they can allow parents to communicate with their kids if needed, and even can be a helpful learning tool. However, the researchers pointed out that high levels of social media use — the average student spent 25 minutes on Instagram — suggests that for the most part, smartphones aren’t exactly being used with noble intentions.

The researchers noted that the study only took personal smartphone use into account, and didn’t consider overall screen time such as time spent on school laptops or tablets.

This study came as more and more states institute restrictions, and even bans, on in-school smartphone use. California passed a law restricting phone use in September. And, just last month, New York Governor Kathy Hochul unveiled a plan to limit cellphone distraction in schools across her state.

“From parents and teachers, to social justice and law enforcement leaders, New Yorkers agree that our young people succeed when they’re learning and growing, not clicking and scrolling,” Hochul said.