The Most Compelling Argument Against Tech in Schools

Somewhere in Sweden, in a classroom where the projector light flickers on the walls, twenty children sit with their eyes glued to their tablets. The teacher stands at the front, but barely anyone looks up. The task is in an app. Interaction happens through a screen. It’s silent—almost sterile—as if the sounds of curiosity and spontaneity have vanished.

It's easy to believe we’re on the brink of an educational revolution. But what if we’re actually losing something fundamental?

We Digitalized Before We Understood What We Were Doing

When screens were first introduced in schools, they came with promises of accessibility, personalized learning, and increased motivation. Students could finally work at their own pace, discover the world through interactive media, and be more engaged. But few asked: at what cost?

In her article “The Most Compelling Argument Against Tech in Schools,” Sophie Winkleman describes how technology, rather than building bridges between students and knowledge, has often become a wall between children and reality. It’s an argument that grows stronger with each new research study.

The Impact of Tech on Child Development

Children are not miniature adults. Their brains are still developing, and that development occurs through sensory input, physical interaction, and social engagement. When we replace books with tablets, pencils with touchscreens, and lessons with video clips, we’re not just changing how they learn—but also what they learn.

Research from the University of California and others shows that too much screen time can inhibit the development of empathy and social skills. Additional studies connect screen time with increased issues around concentration, sleep, and emotional regulation.

We're not teaching children to think—we’re teaching them to scroll.

Screens Make Children Consumers, Not Creators

One of the most overestimated arguments for technology in schools is that it fosters creativity. In fact, studies show that creativity declines when children rely on ready-made solutions and visual stimulation. A blank page demands initiative, while an interactive game guides the student down a predetermined path.

There’s a vast difference between creating something from nothing—and clicking your way through a template.

True creativity arises when children build with their hands, tell stories in their own words, and have space to fail, restart, and think anew. When all of this is packaged into an app, learning is reduced to a click.

The Relationship with the Teacher – The Heart of Pedagogy Disappears

An experienced teacher is a living book, a steady hand, a mirror, and a sounding board. It’s in the interaction between teacher and student that magic happens: when a child is praised for a well-formulated thought or helped to understand a difficult concept because the teacher sees how the child thinks.

When screens come between them, much of this dynamic disappears. The teacher becomes an administrator. The student becomes anonymous. And worst of all: the child becomes unseen.

There’s a serious risk in replacing human presence with digital presence—especially at a time when many children struggle with loneliness, anxiety, and lack of adult contact.

Pedagogical Effectiveness – A Beautifully Packaged Illusion

It’s often claimed that tech makes education more efficient. But in what way? OECD reports show that students using screens frequently perform worse in reading comprehension compared to those learning through pen and paper. In mathematics too, studies suggest better outcomes when students are forced to work things out manually rather than click their way to a correct answer.

Technology can be a helpful tool—but it’s far from a guarantee for better results. In many cases, it’s quite the opposite.

The Most Compelling Argument: Children’s Mental Health

However, the most compelling argument trumps them all: children's well-being. We live in a time where child psychiatry is overwhelmed, where self-esteem is plummeting, and anxiety and depression are reaching younger ages. We see a generation that never gets a break from digital stimuli—not even in the classroom.

Instead of creating a sanctuary at school where children can focus, play, communicate, and be present, we’re extending the digital pressure into their school day. This isn’t just a pedagogical issue—it’s a public health issue.

The Equity Argument – A Disguised Trap

A commonly cited argument is that screens promote equity. That children from homes without books now have access to the same information. But is that really the case?

Real equality doesn’t come from handing every child an iPad. It comes from giving every child access to dedicated teachers, safe school environments, and learning tools that strengthen literacy and reasoning. In fact, screens may widen the gap—since children who lack support at home are also those most easily distracted and left behind by self-guided tech learning.

What Should Children Remember From School?

Login details, passwords, and charging cables? Or the feeling of reading a book that moves them? The smell of pencil on paper? Conversations with a teacher who saw them? Laughter in the hallways? Playing tag at recess?

School is more than knowledge transmission. It is also training in being human. And humanity is shaped through interaction—not isolation.

So What Can We Do Instead?

This isn’t about banning all tech. It’s about using it with discernment and with age in mind. Here are some suggestions:

• Delay screen introduction: Young children in primary school should have minimal screen time. The focus should be on oral interaction, handwriting, and real books.

• Teach tech, but not through tech: Kids need to learn about technology—not live in it. Lessons about coding, digital ethics, and online safety are fine—but should remain limited parts of the curriculum.

• Give power back to teachers: Tech should be a tool for the teacher, not a replacement for teaching. Invest in teacher salaries, training, and smaller class sizes—not more tablets.

• Strengthen schools as social spaces: Reintroduce screen-free time, tech-free recesses, and proactively work to encourage play, creativity, and human connection.

Conclusion: Presence is the Future

In our quest to future-proof education, we’ve overlooked the most timeless ingredient of all: human connection. Eye contact. Listening. Thinking aloud together. Failing, laughing, trying again.

The most compelling argument against tech in schools is not a technical one. It’s human.

We risk raising a generation that knows how to use an app—but not how to have a conversation. That can Google answers—but not ask the right questions. That can click—but not feel.

It’s time to restore balance. To make school a place where children can be children, where learning is alive, and where tech takes a step back—for the sake of what truly matters.