Middle-school aged children should limit their recreational screen time to no more than one hour daily on school days and four hours a day on weekends, researchers say. A new study shows that kids who use the internet, social media, or video games recreationally for longer have significantly lower grades and test scores. “Interactive technology is widely used to promote children’s educational access and achievement,” says lead author Vivien (Wen Li) Anthony, an assistant professor at the Rutgers University School of Social Work and research associate at the Rutgers Center for Gambling Studies. “During the COVID-19 pandemic, technology has been essential to facilitating remote learning. At the same time, there is a growing concern that excessive technology use, particularly for entertainment, may adversely affect children’s educational development by facilitating undesirable study habits and detracting from time spent on learning activities.”