As school phone bans proliferate across the United States, children are using their phones significantly less during school hours, but their overall daily screen time has remained virtually unchanged, according to anonymized data from Findmykids, a family safety and parental control app.
In September 2026, the average U.S. child used their phone for 34.7 minutes a day at school, down about 15% from 40.7 minutes a year earlier. However, total daily use stayed almost flat at roughly six hours: 367 minutes in 2025 and 365 minutes in 2026. The composition of that usage shifted notably, with social media gaining 20.6 minutes per day while games lost 17.5 minutes.
"Cutting phone use at school and cutting a child's total screen time are two separate tasks," said the Analytics Team at Findmykids. "For parents, the better question is when the phone gets used and what for."
The study compared U.S. children ages 9 to 18 during the same September week, involving 15,152 children in 2025 and 11,112 in 2026. These findings suggest that while bans may effectively reduce in-school phone use, they do not necessarily translate into reduced overall screen time. Instead, children may be compensating by using their phones more outside of school hours, particularly for social media.
For parents, this underscores the importance of understanding not just how much time children spend on their phones, but when and how they are using them. The Findmykids app provides tools to monitor screen time and app usage, allowing parents to set limits, block distracting apps, and schedule screen-free periods around critical times such as before and after school, during homework, or before bedtime. Location-based insights add further context by showing which apps are used and for how long in different places.
Beyond screen-time management, Findmykids offers family location sharing, enabling parents to see where family members are and know when a child arrives at or leaves school. The full study is available on the Findmykids blog.
This research highlights a critical distinction for policymakers, educators, and parents: while school phone bans can successfully reduce in-school usage, they may not address overall screen time habits. As digital devices become increasingly integrated into children's lives, a nuanced approach that considers the timing and purpose of phone use may be more effective than blanket bans alone.
Letem LTD, the developer of Findmykids, offers a globally recognized family safety and parental control application designed to provide parents with peace of mind. The app includes real-time location tracking, app usage monitoring, and SOS features, empowering families to raise kids safely in a digital world. For more information, visit https://findmykids.org/.
