Study: US teens spend over an hour on smartphones during school hours, JAMA reports
Latest news on WhatsApp أجدد الأخبار على واتسابA study published in JAMA on Monday, January 5, 2026, reported that adolescents in the United States spend more than one hour per day on smartphones during school hours on average, time that competes with attention to learning in the classroom
The analysis drew on data from 640 adolescents aged 13 to 18 in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study. Phone use was measured objectively using passive monitoring software installed on Android devices, with usage tracked during selected periods between September 2022 and May 2024, rather than relying on self reported screen time.
Social media apps such as Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat accounted for the largest share of in school smartphone use, followed by YouTube and games, according to a university release summarizing the findings. A health report based on the same study said social media time alone was close to 30 minutes per school day, while video streaming and gaming averaged about 15 minutes each.
Researchers noted the results may help educators, parents, and policymakers better understand real world phone use in schools, while also highlighting a key limitation: the monitoring covered Android users only, so patterns among iPhone users may differ.
