Gen Z stands out, averaging around 9 hours per day on screens.
https://www.magnetaba.com/blog/average-screen-time-statistics
Author: Ph.D in Moronology
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2020 – Study finds that social media usage increases memory failures across all age groups.
The concurrent model revealed that on days when social media use was high, individuals reported more memory failures. The lagged model further revealed that higher previous-day social media use was associated with more memory failures on the subsequent day, controlling for previous-day memory failures. These effects were not moderated by age.
https://academic.oup.com/psychsocgerontology/article/75/3/540/5280719?login=false
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2025 – Children and adolescents who spend more than 3 hours a day on social media face double the risk of mental health problems including experiencing symptoms of depression and anxiety.
“This is concerning as a recent survey showed that teenagers spend an average of 3.5 hours a day on social media.”
When asked about the impact of social media on their body image, 46% of adolescents aged 13-17 said social media makes them feel worse.”
Up to 95% of young people aged 13-17 report using a social media platform. Nearly two thirds of teenagers report using social media every day and one third report using social media “almost constantly.
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2024-2025 – Approximately 40% of students across the nation cannot read at a basic level.
Illiteracy has become such a serious problem in our country that 130 million adults are now unable to read a simple story to their children
Approximately 40% of students across the nation cannot read at a basic level
Almost 70% of low-income fourth grade students cannot read at a basic level.
3 out of 5 people in American prisons can’t read
3 out of 4 people on welfare can’t read
54% of adults have a literacy below a 6th-grade level (20% are below 5th-grade level).
The US ranks 36th in literacy.
https://www.thenationalliteracyinstitute.com/2024-2025-literacy-statistics
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November 2025 – MIT Study Finds Significantly Decreased Brain Engagement On Students Using AI
The study divided 54 subjects—18 to 39 year-olds from the Boston area—into three groups, and asked them to write several SAT essays using OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s search engine, and nothing at all, respectively. Researchers used an EEG to record the writers’ brain activity across 32 regions, and found that of the three groups, ChatGPT users had the lowest brain engagement and “consistently underperformed at neural, linguistic, and behavioral levels.” Over the course of several months, ChatGPT users got lazier with each subsequent essay, often resorting to copy-and-paste by the end of the study.
https://time.com/7295195/ai-chatgpt-google-learning-school
https://www.media.mit.edu/publications/your-brain-on-chatgpt
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November 2024 – U.S. Eighth-Graders’ Scores Decline on International Assessment of Critical Computer and Information Literacy Skills
WASHINGTON (November 12, 2024) — U.S. eighth-graders scored at the international average for computer and information literacy but below the international average for computational thinking, according to the results of an international study released today of how prepared students are for today’s digital learning and working environments. Scores for U.S. eighth-graders fell in both areas since 2018, the last time the study was conducted.
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2021 Study by King’s College London Details Depth of ScreenRot Among Adults
Key findings:
UK adults hugely underestimate how often they check their phones, thinking they check them 25 times a day on average, when studies suggest the reality is up to 80 times a day.1
50% say despite their best efforts they sometimes can’t stop checking their smartphones when they should be focusing on other things, with this proving a struggle for middle-aged people as well as the young.
People are more likely than not to feel their attention span is shorter than it used to be (49% vs 23%).
But these perceptions may be linked to some commonly believed myths about attention spans – and many of us still see significant positive impacts from technology and don’t put all the blame on big tech.
- Prof. Dumbening notes the bolded text as evidence for the depth of denial.
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September 2025 – Average reading scores for high school seniors, released by the Nation’s Report Card, fell to their lowest level since 1992.
Average reading scores for U.S. high school seniors have dropped to their lowest levels since 1992. This 10-point decline from the 1992 benchmark indicates a significant, long-term trend in reduced literacy skills, accelerated by, but pre-dating, the pandemic.
“I don’t think we have smoking gun evidence that the rise of screen-based childhood is a direct contributor to the literacy trends that we’re seeing. But I’m willing to put it very high on my list of potential suspects.” – Martin West, academic dean and a professor of education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and the deputy director of the Program on Education Policy and Governance at the Harvard Kennedy School.
https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/