ÉçÇøºÚÁÏ

Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for ÉçÇøºÚÁÏ Newsletter

Earlier this year, to grill experts on how social media, smartphones and other technologies are affecting children’s mental health and learning. That conversation has since helped fuel a new wave of legislative action, with nearly a dozen states now considering screen-time restrictions for students. It’s an important debate. 

But from where I sit in Birmingham, Alabama, the focus in Washington and in many statehouses misses a crisis just as deep and consequential as the one over whether kids spend too much time on TikTok. 

The more urgent issue for millions of families is that too many children and adults lack the digital skills employers now require. That gap is not driven by overexposure to technology but by uneven access to it. Alabama is far from the only state facing this challenge. Roughly one-third of U.S. workers , even as 92% of jobs now require them. 

Concerns about technology overuse deserve attention, but they shouldn’t crowd out the work of building stronger pathways into the digital economy. That means ensuring students and adults have the tools they need, along with access to the instruction and hands-on training that lead to employment. Policymakers and state leaders should be just as focused on helping communities build the workforce pipelines the economy depends on as they are on mitigating screen time. 

As a parent, I understand concerns around screen time on a personal level. My wife and I think about it constantly with our 13-year-old son. Like many families, we have set limits. We decided early not to give him a smartphone until he turns 14. We would rather he spend time outdoors, read real books and experience the world away from a screen.

At the same time, I lead a nonprofit organization whose mission is to prepare young people for the future of work. From that vantage point, I know something else is true: My son’s comfort with technology will play a major role in the opportunities available to him as an adult. Those two realities must coexist, but only one seems to be driving magazine cover stories and congressional hearings.

For many students, school is the only place where they can reliably access a laptop, high-speed internet, or guidance from someone who understands how these tools actually work. In Alabama, lack adequate internet access at home. Nationwide, lack access. Unfortunately, even inside schools, opportunities to develop meaningful technology skills remain uneven. Only of U.S. high schools offer computer science courses at all, and of elementary students are enrolled in computer science learning experiences. As a result, many students never get the chance to learn how technology actually works.

The stakes around this gap are rising quickly. According to the World Economic Forum’s , technological skills are expected to grow in importance faster than any other skill category in the next five years. Artificial intelligence and big data top the list, followed by networks and cybersecurity, and technological literacy more broadly.

Students cannot easily gain these skills from worksheets. They cannot learn to code on paper alone. Educators cannot prepare students for careers in cybersecurity, robotics or digital design without placing technology directly in their hands. And students cannot meaningfully understand artificial intelligence without interacting with it. Yet many policy conversations treat technology in schools primarily as a distraction to be managed rather than a skill set to be developed.

Every school should have dedicated learning spaces where students can experiment with coding, explore AI and develop creative skills. These spaces should be guided by educators who can teach not only the technical skills, but also the ethics and responsibility required to use these tools wisely. Across the country, some schools are showing what that hands-on approach can look like.

At outside Birmingham, for example, a newly built learning lab provides students with access to a podcast studio, music production equipment and video editing tools. Students use the space to produce original music and record podcasts. Meanwhile, at Robert C. Hatch High School in Perry County, a tech-forward space — which was developed through a partnership with the State of Alabama, Apple, Alabama Power Foundation and Ed Farm — combines in-person and remote instruction to expand learning opportunities for students in a rural district.

These schools remain the exception, not the norm, with many districts lacking funding, infrastructure and training. State and federal policymakers should treat that gap as an urgent priority. Digital fluency is now as foundational as reading, writing and math.

Parents, educators and policymakers all play a role in setting healthy boundaries around technology use. Students should not spend every hour of the school day staring at a screen, and devices should not replace teachers or human connection. But schools that lack meaningful access to technology leave students just as unprepared. If the national conversation continues to focus only on keeping technology out of students’ hands rather than putting it within their reach, too many young people will be locked out of the opportunities that define the modern workforce.

Did you use this article in your work?

We’d love to hear how ÉçÇøºÚÁÏ’s reporting is helping educators, researchers, and policymakers.