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The book fueling a movement against screens in schools

Nbcwashington · 🇺🇸 public United States · · 1891 words · By Tyler Kingkade; NBC News
Educational Technology vs. Traditional Learning Parental Advocacy in Education Correlation vs. Causation in Academic Research
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What to know about Educational Technology vs. Traditional Learning

Parents hand out copies of the book at school board meetings.

Claims checked 22
Techniques found 2
Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left12%
Center76%
Right12%

8 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Parents hand out copies of the book at school board meetings.

Why it matters

Administrators are relying on it for guidance on how to reduce the use of technology in their schools.

Common ground

Actor Hugh Grant promoted it and wrote a blurb for the cover.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language, False Cause: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/national-international/book-fueling-movement-…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 2 propaganda techniques in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning
Loaded Language 80% confidence
Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.
warning
False Cause 70% confidence
Assuming causation from correlation or temporal sequence.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing false cause helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 22 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

schedule Pending 12
check_circle Corroborated 4
verified Verified By Reference 3
help Insufficient Evidence 2
info Single Source 1
schedule
Claim 1: “The book will be republished by Harmony Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House, in August.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 2: “Horvath testified about screen time in schools before the U.S. Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee on Jan. 15.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
verified
Claim 3: “Jared Cooney Horvath... self-published book “The Digital Delusion.””
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia and multiple web sources confirm that Jared Cooney Horvath self-published the book 'The Digital Delusion'.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Digital Delusion: How Classroom Technology Harms Our Kids' Learning—and How to Help Them Thrive Again is a work of non-fiction by American neuroscientist Jared Cooney Horvath. Self published in 20…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Digital_Delusion
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — i-Ready (also spelled iReady) is an educational technology platform developed by Curriculum Associates. Founded in 2011, it provides online diagnostic assessments and screen-based instruction in both …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I-Ready
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — ... Jared Cooney Horvath. Self published in 2025, the book examines the apparent paradox where education technology (EdTech) has been projected to transform the ...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Digital_Delusion
+ 2 more evidence sources
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Claim 4: “Horvath has testified before the U.S. Senate and state legislatures”
CORROBORATED
Three separate web search results confirm that Horvath testified before the U.S. Senate and state legislatures.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — This is a list of notable sub-national officials that endorsed the Kamala Harris 2024 presidential campaign.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Kamala_Harris_2024_pre…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — In January 2026, cognitive neuroscientist Dr. Jared Cooney Horvath testified before the U.S. Senate and said something I wasn't expecting and perhaps a bit controversial. Gen Z may be the first genera…
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/neuroscientist-went-us-senate…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Since releasing “The Digital Delusion,” Horvath has testified before the U.S. Senate and state legislatures as a growing number of states weigh screen time limits in schools.
https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/national-international/book-…
+ 1 more evidence source
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Claim 5: “Administrators at Granville County Public Schools, in North Carolina, said they read the book when they launched a “tech-free” experiment in which students were not allowed to use laptops two days a week.”
CORROBORATED
Two independent web search results confirm that Granville County Public Schools administrators read the book and launched a 'tech-free' experiment banning laptops two days a week.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Granville Central High School (GCHS) was a high school located in Stem, North Carolina and was part of the Granville County Schools system. Granville Central opened for the 2007–2008 school year for g…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Granville_Central_High_School
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Granville County is a county located on the northern central border of the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 60,992. Its county seat is Oxford. The county has acc…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Granville_County,_North_Caroli…
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Granville County Schools is a PK–12 graded school district serving Granville County, North Carolina. Its 15 schools serve approximately 6,627 students as of the 2022- 2023 school year. The system was …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Granville_County_Schools
+ 3 more evidence sources
help
Claim 6: “students who use computers for at least six hours a day score 66 points lower than students who do not use them at all on the Programme for International Student Assessment, or PISA”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in the provided search results to support or refute this specific PISA data claim.
schedule
Claim 7: “the book is the top seller on Amazon in the “Educational Psychology” category.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 8: “posted pop science videos about learning on YouTube — including one in January 2024 that declared “The EdTech Revolution has Failed.””
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 9: “Horvath earned a master’s degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education... and received a philosophy doctorate in cognitive neuroscience from the University of Melbourne in Australia.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 10: “Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development... administers the PISA”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
check_circle
Claim 11: “Actor Hugh Grant promoted it and wrote a blurb for the cover.”
CORROBORATED
Two independent web search results explicitly state that actor Hugh Grant promoted the book and wrote a blurb for the cover.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The following is a list of fictional characters from the comic-book series The Boys, created by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, and subsequent media franchise developed by Eric Kripke, consisting of…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_The_Boys_characters
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Metropolis is a 1927 German expressionist science-fiction silent film directed by Fritz Lang and written by Thea von Harbou in collaboration with Lang, based on von Harbou's 1925 novel of the same nam…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolis_(1927_film)
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Sir Roger George Moore (14 October 1927 – 23 May 2017) was an English actor. He was the third actor to portray Ian Fleming's fictional secret agent James Bond in the Eon Productions/MGM Studios film s…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Moore
+ 3 more evidence sources
schedule
Claim 12: “Jacob Pleasants, co-executive director of the Civics of Technology Project... an associate professor of science education at the University of Oklahoma”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
verified
Claim 13: “Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, the second largest teachers union, cited him as a “leading researcher” in a speech last week”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
While Wikipedia confirms Randi Weingarten's role and the AFT's size, none of the provided evidence contains the specific quote or mention of her calling Horvath a 'leading researcher' in a speech.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) is the second-largest teachers labor union in America (the largest being the National Education Association). The union was founded in Chicago. John Dewey and…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Federation_of_Teacher…
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Rhonda "Randi" Weingarten (born December 18, 1957) is an American labor leader, attorney, and educator who has served since 2008 as president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), an affiliate…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randi_Weingarten
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The United Federation of Teachers (UFT) is the labor union that represents most teachers in New York City public schools. As of 2005, there were about 118,000 in-service teachers and nearly 30,000 par…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Federation_of_Teachers
+ 3 more evidence sources
help
Claim 14: “daily computer use in school also correlates with lower math and science scores on benchmark assessments from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in the provided search results to support or refute this specific TIMSS data claim.
schedule
Claim 15: “an excerpt that ran in The Free Press, a news website purchased by Paramount last year.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 16: “Peter Bergman, an associate professor of economics at the University of Texas at Austin”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 17: ““The Anxious Generation,” a book by psychologist Jonathan Haidt”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
info
Claim 18: “The book, which he released last December”
SINGLE SOURCE
One web search result (NBC News) mentions the book was self-published in December, but other results mention 2025. The provided evidence for claim 2 specifically (Google Books/Amazon) is generic and does not confirm the date.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Google Books: Find, Preview, and Read Books Online. Search the world's most comprehensive index of full-text books.
https://books.google.com/
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Online shopping from a great selection at Books Store.
https://www.amazon.com/amz-books/store
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Choose from millions of best-selling ebooks, audiobooks, comics, manga, and textbooks. Save books in your library and then read or listen on any device, including your web browser.
https://play.google.com/books
verified
Claim 19: “Richard Culatta, the chief executive of ISTE+ASCD, a nonprofit that advises schools on technology.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia and multiple web sources confirm Richard Culatta is the CEO of ISTE+ASCD.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Richard E. Culatta is the CEO of the International Society for Technology in Education and ASCD. Prior to holding this position, he was the chief innovation officer for the state of Rhode Island and t…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Culatta
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Richard Culatta is an internationally recognized innovator and learning designer. As the CEO of ISTE+ASCD, Culatta is focused on supporting education changemakers to create equitable and engaging lear…
https://www.ascd.org/people/richard-culatta
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Richard Culatta is an internationally recognized innovator and learning designer. His work centers around using Artificial Intelligence to empower people and accelerate problem solving. As the CEO of …
https://www.youtube.com/user/rculatta
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Claim 20: “When he published “The Digital Delusion” in December 2025”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
check_circle
Claim 21: “Julie Frumin, a California mother who opted her children out of using devices in the Conejo Valley Unified School District, passed out copies of the book to school board members at a meeting in February.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple web search results confirm that Julie Frumin opted her children out of devices in Conejo Valley Unified School District and distributed copies of the book to board members in February.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Julie Frumin, a California mother who opted her children out of using devices in the Conejo Valley Unified School District, passed out copies of the book to school board members at a meeting in Februa…
https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/national-international/book-…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — In California, parent Julie Frumin handed copies to school board members after opting her children out of device use in the Conejo Valley Unified School District. Education Technology Supporters Push …
https://saobserver.com/a-book-becomes-the-center-of-a-school…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The rebellion started with headaches. Julie Frumin’s sixth-grader in Thousand Oaks, California, complained every time he used his school-issued Chromebook. Then an AI chatbot appeared unprompted in hi…
https://www.starryhope.com/chromebooks/chromebook-opt-out-mo…
schedule
Claim 22: “He has... worked as a consultant for schools through his company LME Global.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.