New research reveals American teens spend 70 minutes on their phones during the school day. Here is where that time is actually going.

AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS, March 19, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- As South Dakota schools continue debating phone policies, new research is shedding light on a question many parents and educators have been asking: what are students actually doing on their devices during the school day?

A study published in January 2026 by the Journal of the American Medical Association found that American teenagers spend an average of 70 minutes on their phones during the school day. The vast majority of that time is spent on social media platforms including TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat. Gaming apps account for nearly 15 minutes of daily in-school phone use, with video platforms like YouTube making up a similar share.

Researchers noted that the apps students are using during school hours are highly unlikely to be related to schoolwork.

The findings are particularly relevant for South Dakota families because they illustrate a gap that phone policies are increasingly trying to close. Many of the platforms students are spending time on during the school day are already blocked on school-issued Chromebooks and computers.

Social media sites, video streaming services, and browser-based gaming platforms are routinely filtered out on school networks. Poki, a free web gaming platform that hosts hundreds of browser-based games accessible from any device, is one example of the kind of site students can reach instantly on a personal phone but would typically find blocked on a school computer.

The question for most schools is no longer whether students are accessing these types of content but how much of the school day it is consuming and what the right response looks like.

For South Dakota families having this conversation at home, the research suggests the issue is less about any single app or platform and more about structure. The content itself is not going away. What schools and parents can control is when and where it gets accessed.

Website: https://poki.com/

Address: Spui 10, 1012 WZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Support Team
Poki
Hello@poki.com

Legal Disclaimer:

EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.