‘Screens are harming our children — and I fear it’s about to get worse’

“We managed without the internet when I was young” is a popular refrain for modern parents.

We did of course manage just fine, though we should also admit that there are many benefits to the technological revolution.

But the move to online life has come at great cost; a phone-based childhood is leaving our kids sadder, fatter and less skilled than previous generations.

Surprisingly, educationalists seem less sceptical than parents when it comes to the use of technology in the classroom.

Many schools have rolled out iPads, laptops and online homework without stopping to ask whether these expensive innovations have any educational benefits.

Across the West, academic attainment is falling and experts are worried that children do not learn as effectively on screens compared to on paper.

So we should be concerned about the announcement from exam board AQA that some GCSE exams are to move online.

AQA claims this will be less ‘onerous’ for students but I suspect the real reason has more to do with reduced cost and ease of marking.

We should welcome the use of technology when it heralds genuine progress.

But in education there is no clear evidence that screens are helping our children; they may very well be doing the opposite.