The 1000 Hours Outside Podcast 1KHO 748: Public Schools Should Serve Students, Not Screens | Dr. Jared Horvath, The Digital Delusion
Mar 24, 2026
Dr. Jared Cooney Horvath, neuroscientist and author of The Digital Delusion, explores how decades of research challenge classroom screen use. He questions one-to-one device rollouts, compares paper versus screens, and highlights handwriting, boredom, downtime, and phone habits as critical to real learning. Short, provocative takes on why less tech might mean more thinking.
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EdTech Became A Massive Data Harvesting Industry
- EdTech is now a $400 billion industry pushing one-to-one device adoption and data harvesting in schools.
- Ginny and Jared point out districts widely adopted devices and many platforms openly track facial data, voice, typing and engagement patterns.
Stop Waiting For EdTech To Prove Itself
- Avoid assuming better hardware or more programs will fix learning; decades of meta-analyses show digital tech harms learning compared to analog methods.
- Jared stresses evidence: 60 years of pooled research consistently finds screens reduce learning outcomes.
Print Textbooks To Restore Memory Anchors
- Print digital readings and textbooks whenever possible to restore spatial anchors that boost comprehension and memory.
- Jared explains physical books provide a fixed three-dimensional location that aids recall; screens remove that spatial cue and invite skimming.
