Screen Time and Academic Performance

This study investigates the impact of student screen time on quiz performance, looking at whether excessive use of digital devices correlates with lower academic achievement. With the increasing prevalence of online learning, entertainment, and social media, screen time has become a significant part of students' daily lives. This has become increasingly relevant in recent months as South Carolina policymakers put a ban on phones in school. This paper continues the research of Asaduzzaman Khan, who found that increased screen time correlated with less satisfaction in academic performance and greater stress. Khan did this through a survey that reached 38 European countries. This paper will use a similar data collection method, a survey asking for students' screen time and their latest quiz grades. This survey will be given out twice so data can be analyzed for a student's performance over time. Each student's change in screen time and change in quiz grade will be plotted, this will then be analyzed utilizing a least squares linear regression model. Though the results indicated a negative correlation between extended screen time and quiz performance, the results were not statistically significant. Suggesting that high screen usage may contribute to decreased academic performance. More research collected from a wider sample of students should be explored to give educators and policymakers more helpful information to help them make decisions.