There is a certain tone adults often adopt when discussing student screen time: a mix of concern, nostalgia, and mild exasperation. It usually boils down to the same established problem — that kids and teenagers are “always on that damn phone.” However, this framing misses something important: students aren’t just passive consumers of screens, and they are not unaware of their habits, either. Many are actively thinking about how, when, and why they use their devices.
For most students, screen time isn’t a single, uniform activity. It’s layered into many parts of their day, serving different purposes. Franklin senior Oscar Peck describes a routine that is not unusual: “I spend about three hours a day on my phone, and none of that [is] school-related. … I also spend around three hours a day on my computer for school.” This distinction between leisure and academic use further complicates the belief that all screen time is inherently harmful.
Gwendolyn Kimbrow, a junior at Franklin, describes a similar split. She estimates spending “about three to five hours on [her] phone,” and “around three hours” on her computer for schoolwork every day. Together, their routines suggest that students are able to distinguish between different kinds of use. That distinction is important because it highlights how students balance entertainment with academic responsibilities in their daily lives.
What students are doing on their phones matters. For Peck, it is a mix of movies, TV, and scrolling on TikTok in bed, tying his screen time to relaxation, routine, and social connection. For Kimbrow, it is “scrolling, texting, [and] also looking at Pinterest,” along with things like checking the weather or recent notifications. There’s an element of mindfulness to both of these students’ screen use, showing a balance between using helpful tools and using screens for leisure.
Still, many students are aware of the downsides to excessive screen use, and acknowledge the issue of being chronically online. Peck is clear that his habits have not always been balanced, saying his screen time “used to be really bad, [about] seven hours a day,” until he began limiting his usage. Kimbrow expresses a similar awareness, admitting, “I think that I spend too much time scrolling [in] my free time, so I don’t have much time for [other hobbies].” These reflections point out something often overlooked in discussions around screen time: students are capable of critiquing their own habits.
This self-awareness can lead to intentional changes. Kimbrow notes that, over the summer, “if I go somewhere, usually my parents take away my phone, but sometimes it’s my idea, and I ask them to.” Peck has made similar cutbacks, including deciding to limit his screen time when he realized too much of his day was spent on his phone. That kind of adjustment comes both from external rules and internal recognition of when something feels like too much.
This kind of self-regulation shows up in small, practical ways. Some students track their screen time and adjust based on what they see. Others build routines around schoolwork, extracurriculars, and sleep that naturally limit how much time is available for scrolling. Peck, for example, gets seven to eight hours of relatively consistent sleep even with his nightly scroll routine.
Interestingly, this habit highlights another pattern: many students understand what research says about screens, but their lived experiences don’t always align with this. “I know the science doesn’t support it … but I feel like scrolling right before bed actually helps me sleep,” Peck says. Kimbrow offers a perspective that affirms most research, saying that using her phone before bed “makes it harder to fall asleep,” adding that “the stimulation and light right before bed has a negative effect.” These differences show how students weigh research against personal experience to decide what works for them.
Another overlooked aspect of the conversation is how screen time interacts with hobbies rather than replacing them. Research says that more time spent on a phone means less time doing other activities. But for some students, this trade-off isn’t so direct. Peck lists a range of offline interests: cooking, reading, writing, and making movies. Kimbrow similarly mentions reading, going on walks, and playing games with her family. These other hobbies aren’t necessarily abandoned because of screens; both things can, and do, coexist.
Screens’ ability to share space with other aspects of life can be applied socially as well. Students still spend time together in person — getting food, shopping, driving — but phones are part of those interactions as well. They can have positive effects through sharing videos or jokes in the moment. Other times, however, screen use can be frustrating. “It’s really annoying when you’re hanging out with someone, and they just start mindlessly scrolling instead of talking,” Peck admits. Kimbrow echoes this nuance, explaining that, “in bigger groups, it’s more likely that we will all end up on screens,” while one-on-one time tends to be more focused and present. These feelings show that students can recognize when screen use crosses a line, and impacts the way they interact with those around them.
What emerges from these perspectives is not a simply picture of addiction or helplessness, but an ongoing negotiation. Students must balance academic responsibilities, social lives, and personal interests, and screens are integrated into many of those areas. As a result, reducing screen use entirely may not feel practical for everyone. Peck acknowledges the appeal of digital detoxes, saying, “I think it would be nice to spend no time on my phone,” but ultimately views his current habits positively, “I have gotten it to a very manageable level where it doesn’t interfere with anything I have to do.”
This sense of management is key. It shifts the goal from completely eliminating screen use to learning to balance your time, and points to a broader critique of how adults often approach the issue. “I feel like the push to have kids not access their phones is short-sided,” Peck says. “At some point, [those kids] are going to be able to access them with no restrictions … It would be more helpful if the focus was more on students learning to manage their own screen time.”
Kimbrow and Peck described their screen use less as a question of complete control or dependence, and more as a factor they are actively trying to manage. Their experiences include late night scrolling sessions, moments of distractions, and sometimes even periods of overuse, but also reflection and adjustment as they work to balance their screen time with school and life.
