We were told that giving our children laptops, tablets and educational software was progress. As Granby’s chapter leader for Mothers Against Media Addiction (MAMA), I’d like to recommend a book that challenges that assumption: The Digital Delusion: How Classroom Technology Harms Our Kids’ Learning—and How to Help Them Thrive Again by Dr. Jared Cooney Horvath. It is essential reading for any parent who has watched a child’s attention fragment, wondered why reading for pleasure has faded or simply felt uneasy about the Chromebook that came home in the backpack. It names what many of us have sensed and shows us what we can do about it.
In The Digital Delusion, Horvath delivers an urgent, research-grounded argument that classroom technology is quietly undermining how today’s children learn, think and develop. Drawing on international test data, brain science and more than 60 years of education research, he makes a case that is difficult to dismiss: for the first time in the history of standardized cognitive measurement, children are consistently scoring lower than their parents did at the same age. Students who use computers more than six hours a day score the equivalent of two letter grades lower on international assessments than their peers who do not. The 2022 global math results showed the steepest single-year decline ever recorded.
But this is not a screed against technology. Horvath, who has taught and conducted research at Harvard University and worked with more than a thousand schools worldwide, is careful and precise. He identifies five myths that have driven schools to adopt digital tools without evidence: that education was broken before tech arrived; that multimedia automatically enhances learning; that EdTech platforms are neutral tools; that today’s children are fundamentally different “digital natives”; and that the answer to technology’s failures is simply more, or better, technology. He dismantles each one methodically, and with compassion for the parents, teachers and administrators who were told these myths were facts.
The book’s most practical section, titled Pushing Back, offers concrete steps families can take at home—prioritizing handwritten notes, paper books and active recall over passive screen-based review—alongside ready-to-use templates for parents to advocate for change at their local schools. His message is clear: human connection, not software, has always been at the heart of real learning, and reclaiming that is both possible and urgent.
What I appreciated most is that Horvath doesn’t leave readers feeling helpless. The book’s final section offers practical starting points for anyone who wants to engage: sample letters parents can adapt for conversations with teachers and principals, policy frameworks for administrators, and a clear guide to the questions worth raising at a school board meeting—practical tools for anyone who wants to take a step, however small. In Granby, our MAMA chapter is focused on creating a supportive community for parents and allies who want to ensure schools prioritize children’s learning and development over unproven technology. We’d love to hear from you at granbyctmamachapter@gmail.com