Across the globe, researchers have uncovered extensive evidence of the detrimental impact of screens on Gen Alpha (2010 to 2025) and Gen Z (1995 to 2009) students. Add artificial intelligence (AI) to the mix, and the entire education system may need to throw millions of dollars’ worth of iPads out the window.
Sweden made international headlines when it was reported that the government is reversing course and replacing screens with paper and pencils. It is a sharp reversal from the previous compulsory initiative of embracing laptops and tablets. The new “från skärm till pärm” (“from screen to binder”) campaign is in response to research showing the harmful effects of screens on learning, attention, and overall brain development.
Gen Alpha and Screens
Gen Alpha, born primarily from millennials, is the first generation to be fully immersed in the digital world, from streaming platforms to mobile devices to screen-based learning. It is also the main generational victim of government schools relying on screens to teach educational material, be it phonics or mathematics.
For example, a South Korean study found that young adults had higher oxygen‑rich blood in the prefrontal cortex, a brain region associated with memory, when they read on paper. Put simply, students’ brains were more efficient when learning from paper.
“The current study demonstrated that brain efficiency in encoding is higher in subjects with paper-based learning than those with digital tablet-based learning. This finding has important implications for education, particularly in terms of the pros and cons of electronic document-based learning,” they wrote.
In another instance, an Israeli study found that when six- to eight-year-olds read on paper, there was more power in high-frequency brainwaves and less on screens.
These are only a small sample of the immense number of research papers showing the same patterns: School boards and teachers are not helping children by using tablets, computers, and other digital tools to teach basic arithmetic or words.
Surprisingly, even Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, agrees. Last month, the union leader delivered a speech titled “Devices Down, Eyes Up, Hands-On: 10 Points to Boost Teaching and Learning in the AI Era.” Weingarten outlined a ten-point action plan that prohibits screens and limits the usage of artificial intelligence.
“We are at a crossroads that will define the future of work and society. Without proper oversight and strong guardrails, there will be real dangers to our safety, privacy, climate, and the very fabric of society,” she said.
Despite contributing to the mess in the government education system, at least she is seeking solutions to rectify a growing problem in American society.
But what about AI’s effects on Gen Z? The data are just as troublesome as for screens.
Artificial Unintelligence
In the 2000s, students were caught cheating by using Google. Years later, their dependence on Wikipedia became an issue for professors. These days, relying on ChatGPT has become a key challenge for educators everywhere. But while supporters argue that AI is merely another tool that society needs to adapt to, the data show that the way kids are using it is having negative consequences for the future.
When the results of a recent Chinese study involving more than 26,000 students were released, the conclusion was thought-provoking. Scientists found that homework improved by 20% and that students spent 20% less time on it. At exam time, they performed 20% worse.
Another paper, published in December, compared more than 2,000 college admission essays penned by students before ChatGPT arrived on the scene with essays generated by GPT-4. Researchers found that students who do not use large language models (LLMs) are as much as eight times more creative than students with access to these models (ChatGPT, Grok, Claude, and others).
Even students accept that AI is doing more harm than good. A new survey from RAND’s American Youth Panel uncovered that 67% of students agreed that AI erodes their critical thinking skills. Despite this acknowledgment, a majority of middle schoolers and high schoolers increased their use of AI for homework.
RAND researchers said in the report:
“In nationally representative surveys of American youth, increasing shares of middle schoolers, high schoolers, and college students reported using artificial intelligence (AI) for help with their homework over the course of 2025. At the same time, these students reported substantial ambiguity in how to navigate their growing use of AI in the school environment. That most students who use AI worry about its impacts should be a call to action for educators.”
Too Late?
Because government schools are slow to adapt to evolving data, is it too late to change how we teach Gen Alpha? Will we have made reforms in time for Generation Beta?
The damage may have already been done to the last two generations. Since 2012, the share of nine- and 13-year-olds reporting no homework has risen substantially. Simultaneously, the share of kids in these age ranges stating they read for pleasure has dropped sharply.
Politicians and bureaucrats have attempted to mask the deterioration of children’s proficiency, whether in math or reading, by lowering standards, passing everyone, and using “gradeflation.” Will officials employ the same strategy in the coming years? There is little reason to hope for the best, meaning that it will be up to parents to foster a home environment of more reading, greater thinking, and less watching.
In other words, ditch Bluey, read 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and dump the tablet.
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