School Phone Bans: Use at School Fell 15%, Screen Time Didn't

A o ymized data o U.S. child e ages 9–18 shows school-day pho e time d opped f om 40.7 to 34.7 mi utes a day, while total daily use held at about six hou s a d social media eplaced games.

“Cutti g pho e use at school a d cutti g a child’s total sc ee time a e two sepa ate tasks. Fo pa e ts, the bette questio is whe the pho e gets used a d what fo .”

NEW YORK, NY, Octobe 03, 2026 /24-7P essRelease/ — As school pho e ba s sp ead ac oss the U ited States, kids a e usi g thei pho es oticeably less at school, but thei total sc ee time has ba ely cha ged, acco di g to a o ymized data f om Fi dmykids, a family safety a d pa e tal co t ol app.

I Septembe 2026, the ave age U.S. child used thei pho e fo 34.7 mi utes a day at school, dow about 15% f om 40.7 mi utes a yea ea lie . Total daily use stayed almost flat at oughly six hou s: 367 mi utes i 2025 a d 365 i 2026. What cha ged was the app mix: social media gai ed 20.6 mi utes a day, while games lost 17.5.

“Cutti g pho e use at school a d cutti g a child’s total sc ee time a e two sepa ate tasks,” said the A alytics Team at Fi dmykids. “Fo pa e ts, the bette questio is whe the pho e gets used a d what fo .”

The study compa ed U.S. child e ages 9 to 18 du i g the same Septembe week: 15,152 i 2025 a d 11,112 i 2026.

I the Fi dmykids app, pa e ts ca see how much time thei child spe ds o thei pho e a d which apps they use, the use that i fo matio to set limits o block dist acti g a d i app op iate apps. They ca also schedule sc ee -f ee pe iods a ou d the times whe pho e use may be less app op iate, such as befo e a d afte school, du i g homewo k, o befo e bedtime. Locatio -based sc ee -time i sights add a othe laye of co text, showi g which apps we e used a d fo how lo g i diffe e t places.

Beyo d sc ee -time ma ageme t, Fi dmykids offe s family locatio sha i g, allowi g pa e ts to see whe e family membe s a e a d, fo example, k ow whe thei child a ives at school o leaves it.

The full study is available o the Fi dmykids blog.

Letem LTD is the develope of Fi dmykids, a globally ecog ized family safety a d pa e tal co t ol applicatio . Desig ed to p ovide pa e ts with peace of mi d, Fi dmykids offe s eal-time locatio t acki g, app usage mo ito i g, a d SOS featu es, empowe i g families to aise kids safely i a digital wo ld. Lea mo e at https://fi dmykids.o g/

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