Britney Mumford is the executive director of DelawareKidsCAN and a mom of two.
As a mom of two young boys, I spend a lot of time thinking about what will help them thrive when they reach school. I want them to become strong readers, feel confident tackling difficult math problems and stay curious about the world around them. Like any parent, I want to give them the best possible foundation.
In my role as executive director of DelawareKidsCAN, I work to make those opportunities available to every child in our state. That means advocating for effective instruction, high expectations and policies that help students succeed. It also means paying attention to what can get in the way of learning, including the digital environments increasingly shaping children’s lives.
Our efforts to improve student achievement depend on children having the time, attention and confidence to learn. When apps compete relentlessly for their attention, the consequences reach into the classroom.
An international study of 15-year-olds found that roughly 30% of students across participating Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries said digital devices distracted them in most or every math lesson. Frequent distraction was also associated with lower math scores. Those findings raise a concern about the conditions students need to do their best work. Even strong instruction can lose its impact when a child’s attention is repeatedly pulled elsewhere. Protecting that attention belongs in any serious effort to improve achievement.
At the same time, technology can strengthen learning experiences. A student struggling with fractions can find another explanation. A reluctant reader can discover a book that finally captures his or her interest. Online tools can connect students with tutoring and opportunities their families might otherwise struggle to access.
The challenge is helping children benefit from those resources, while protecting their ability to learn. Parents are central to that work, but we need practical ways to guide what reaches our children.
Last summer, Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings stood with a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general from across the country to settle their case against the company behind Instagram and Facebook, and a federal judge approved the agreement in August. For teens on those two apps, most notifications will be silenced by default during school hours. Teens will get what Attorney General Jennings has called “productive pauses” after 15 minutes of continuous scrolling, along with two-hour daily limits that only parents can lift. Contact from potentially suspicious adults will be restricted, and parents will be alerted if their teens try to change those protective settings.
Those are the kinds of practical tools parents need. But we all know how quickly teens move from one platform to the next. These notification blockers and time limits can only do so much when they apply to just two apps.
Delaware has a direct stake in closing that gap. Our state is guaranteed $73.6 million over 10 years under the settlement, with another $30 million possible if other social media platforms, like YouTube and TikTok, adopt similar terms. Half of those payments are set aside for youth programs, like digital wellness education and after-school programs.
Protections like these would support the work parents and educators already do. Families would still need to set boundaries. Schools would still need to protect instructional time. Children would still need guidance on using technology responsibly. Extending them across the industry can make those efforts more effective by giving families greater control over the digital experiences entering their children’s lives.
YouTube and TikTok can and should step up now, without being ordered to. I’m asking Attorney General Jennings to push them and the rest of the industry to follow suit. Parents deserve a meaningful say in the digital experiences shaping their children’s lives, and students deserve to learn without constant competition for their attention.
As an education advocate, I want our investments in teaching and learning to deliver results. As a mom, I want my sons to be able to give their full attention to books, questions or ideas that excite them. Both depend on adults making thoughtful decisions about the world children grow up in.
Reader reactions, pro or con, are welcomed at civiltalk@iniusa.org.
