School Leaders Must Distinguish Digital Literacy from Digital Dependency

Photo by Katerina Holmes

By Dr. Nidhi Gupta

As a pediatric endocrinologist and a mother, I care about the same things every school leader cares about:

children who can think clearly, focus deeply, stay safe, build strong relationships, and grow into capable young adults.

The question I find myself asking isn’t whether children should learn technology. Of course they should. The question is whether technology should be shaping so much of childhood.

Schools have an opportunity to lead an important conversation before it becomes a larger societal issue by making one critical distinction: teaching digital literacy is not the same as building digital dependency.

I believe now is the right time for schools to pause and reassess how much elementary and middle school learning should depend on individual student laptops, particularly devices that are issued to students and sent home. A school laptop, though intended as a learning tool, can quickly become a mall, a chat room, a gaming device, a data trail, and a doorway to content and strangers no adult ever intended to invite into a child’s life.

In my own practice,

I’ve seen the consequences up close. Recently, a middle school student purchased several thousand dollars’ worth of merchandise during the school day on a school-issued laptop. One parent believed her daughter was completing homework in Google Workspace, only to later discover that the child had been secretly chatting with a stranger through Google Spreadsheets, sharing photos, and planning a meeting. A survey of 1,300 teens found 54% reported viewing pornography before age 13, nearly a third of whom saw it at school, 44% of those on a school-issued device.

I don’t raise these examples to blame a child, teacher, or school. I raise them because they illustrate a larger truth: even when technology is introduced for learning, it inevitably brings access, temptation, distraction, privacy concerns, and safety risks that are difficult to fully control. These stories aren’t evidence of bad children. They’re reminders that they are children,  still developing impulse control, emotional regulation, executive functioning, and sustained attention. They are learning how to focus, tolerate boredom, persist through difficulty, and think deeply.

I understand why many parents feel conflicted about raising this issue. I hear a version of the same concern constantly: “This is the world our children live in. We may not love it, but maybe we don’t have a choice.” I understand that feeling. Our children do need to become capable in a digital world. But resignation is not the same as wisdom, and inevitability is not the same as good educational design.

Nationally, schools are already reconsidering the screen-heavy model that once seemed inevitable.

Between 2020 and 2024, U.S. schools spent an estimated $15–35 billion in federal pandemic relief funds on laptops, learning software, and other EdTech. Policymakers in multiple states have begun reassessing that strategy, introducing measures aimed at reducing school screen time.

The evidence increasingly suggests that the benefits of broad EdTech adoption, particularly AI-driven platforms promising personalization, are not as clear as many schools once assumed. Some technology can be helpful when used intentionally. But screen-based and AI-driven learning is not automatically better learning, and convenience should not be mistaken for effectiveness. Research consistently shows that comprehension, memory retention, and sustained attention are stronger with books, paper, and handwriting than with digital formats. UNESCO’s 2023 book An EdTech Tragedy? found little credible evidence that EdTech improves learning outcomes. A 2024 Columbia University Teachers College study found that digital reading led to shallower processing, while paper reading supported deeper comprehension and memory. Paper learning, it turns out, tends to be a calmer, more sustained experience, while screen learning encourages skimming.

I’m also deeply concerned about the privacy and safety implications of EdTech software. Many EdTech platforms collect student work, communications, browsing behavior, usage patterns, location-related data, and social-emotional survey responses. Parents are often told these platforms are safe because they’re educational,  yet several widely used EdTech companies have faced lawsuits and investigations over student privacy and data practices.

With that in mind, I’d ask school leaders to consider four steps: review how much daily screen exposure is truly necessary in core academic subjects; create an annual EdTech review process evaluating educational value, privacy, safety, data collection, and lower-tech alternatives; explore keeping school-issued laptops at school rather than sending them home; and increase transparency and parental awareness around student data collection and use.

Worth asking of every EdTech tool:

What does this accomplish that a teacher, book, or worksheet can’t do as well or better? Is there independent evidence it works? What student data does it collect, and who has access to it? Can it be used without creating an individual student profile?

None of this makes a school anti-technology. It is actually quite the opposite. It positions schools as thoughtful leaders, willing to prepare students for the future without surrendering childhood to screens.

I recognize that moving toward more intentional, lower-tech learning environments takes time, creativity, and planning. Schools may need to revisit contracts, reallocate resources, and rethink long-standing assumptions. But once a community decides a change is worth pursuing, systems have a way of adapting. After all, books, handwriting, teacher-led personalization, real-world laboratories, and face-to-face learning are not new ideas. They formed the foundation of education for centuries.

My hope isn’t to turn back the clock. It’s about moving forward thoughtfully so students become digitally literate without becoming digitally dependent.

Dr. Nidhi Gupta is a pediatric endocrinologist, best-selling author, TEDx speaker, and internationally recognized expert on digital wellness. An award-winning researcher with over 100 scientific publications, she founded the Phreedom Foundation (Ungrip Devices. Grip Life.) in 2019 to help individuals and families build healthier relationships with technology. Her research has linked screen overuse to anxiety, sleep disruption, burnout, and fragmented attention, making her a trusted voice in the global conversation on tech and health. Through retreats, coaching, school partnerships, and corporate workshops, she has inspired a growing movement toward intentional living. Her best-selling book, Calm the Noise, offers a personal and scientific guide to leading by example in the digital age.