There is a noticeable epidemic happening across the United States of America. One that is never acknowledged on the news, in political debates or even on your social media feeds. A killer both silent and loud, one that permeates all communities regardless of class, race, political alignment or location. A virus you contract as a young child, maybe even a toddler, and you carry with you until you perish. 9 times out of 10 you pass it on to your children; we pretend it's a dormant, recessive illness but the truth is it is dominant in all of its carriers. But when everyone is a carrier, we neglect the seriousness of the situation. In simple language- this virus makes you stupid. You become stupid, insecure, and therefore weak.
There is a literacy crisis across the U.S. A crisis akin to the worst virus, affecting the capabilities and livelihoods of millions of well-deserving Americans. Statistics from the past two decades show a continuously declining literacy rate for not only minors, but adults as well. During a 2024-2025 survey conducted by the National Literacy Institute, it was discovered that 54% of adults have a literacy below a 6th-grade level (20% are below 5th-grade level). It was further discovered that around half of adult Americans admit to struggling with literacy on a daily basis, from being unable to read prescription drug labels, to road signage to work and bank contracts, etc.
However, this literacy virus does not begin infection once you graduate high school, or join the workforce, it undoubtedly begins during the pre-literate stage of toddler development. It has been an incredibly known and understood fact that literacy efforts must begin in the preverbal stages of infancy, with early elementary education being absolutely imperative. I would go as far to say that poor early elementary education can be considered: a death sentence. A child who begins kindergarten without any previous exposure to phonics and appropriate basic milestones are already greatly set back compared to their peers, with a greater risk of repeating kindergarten, being labeled as special needs, and a plethora of social issues such as behavioral outbursts, chronic frustration, childhood depression and intellectual issues. When this is not corrected early, the issue festers until you are left with a stunted adult.
There are hundreds of statistical models to measure appropriate literacy capabilities in minors, and every single one proves that the majority of American children are unable to read at grade-appropriate levels. During the National Literacy Institute’s 2022-2023 survey, an alarming 40% of students across the nation could not read at a basic level.
Outside of statistics and collected data, hundreds of teachers and caregivers have reported anecdotal evidence online. In a TikTok posted on April 29, 2025 by user and 9th-grade teacher @kingdesee, the unnamed teacher describes a prompt she gave out to her class to describe the field trip they had recently attended. [While maintaining student anonymity], she shows a photo of a 9th graders’ submitted response.
“i enyosed the feldtrip
I liked leasnuy acaut and tcuciny the adiucls at the learniy bnres
Idid not like wacking on pare
i wod go back”
She goes on to show another prompt she gave for a science project on water collection.
“Did you run any tests? What were your results? What does this tell you about the river?” was the big, red, extremely legible heading atop the presentation template.
“i ransome test on the water for the phd of the water. The result were like green or something i cant remember.it tells me a little dirt. And it already looks dirty”
Out of the 5,640 appalled comments, one user asked, “Surely this can’t be the majority…..”, to which the creator of the tiktok responds “Not the majority but a large enough amount that I struggle to read their assignments.” @kingdesee’s story is only the tip of the iceberg for a larger national crisis. Young people everywhere, from younger Gen-Z to Gen Alpha, are suffering a true literacy crisis that will only snowball into something bigger.
To only name one cause of this crisis would be entirely short-sighted. This is a complex issue with a web of interconnected predisposing factors. Public education is underfunded as a whole, libraries are disappearing across the country, leaving book deserts. Millennial and Gen-Z parents with already subpar literacy skills are now at the helm of the generation, as parents of Generation Alpha, creating little humans with even worse literacy skills. Economic factors, political factors, sociocultural factors, etc., all go hand in hand in aiding the decline of literacy rates. However, there is one factor that sticks out, often only discussed on a shallow level, that has a sprawl of undetermined influence.
The early 2000s, and even the 1990’s, saw technology as some sort of cultural change that was coming, it wasn’t already here with us. Technology was inherently intertwined with being futuristic, and therefore both very idealistic and even utopian. We see this in both the Y2K aesthetic as well as smaller movements like Frutiger Aero. When we hypothesized about the negatives of technology, it often took the form of campy robotic monsters planning to ruin the human civilization in a violent militaristic coup; we neglected to hypothesize about the actually very possible and very realistic negative byproducts.
Technology, once a beacon of hope for the educational industry, has become a truly unpredictable wildcard. For decades, the public has been sold the idea that technology would universally aid children’s education, through online libraries, AAC devices, free YouTube content, the online classroom, etc. Technology would create a plethora of tools and products, the internet would become an endless resource. However, it is clear that technology is not directly making literacy rates higher. The presence and adoption of technology inside and outside of the classroom has continuously increased, while the national literacy rates have continuously decreased. While it is a fool’s errand to use this essay to figure out if this is correlation, causation or two parallel variables, the relationship between these two is undeniable. Supposed technological advancements, such as the iPad and internet-based children’s entertainment, may be more at fault for the decline of literacy rates than we know.
My Magic Electric Tablet
Across the United States, a new child-rearing entity has become extremely popular. Every child’s new playmate, one that straddles the line of being very, very imaginary, and very, very real. What once was somewhat of a status symbol just 15 years ago, has now become a fixture in almost every family household. The entity teaches, checks, monitors, entertains and even, pacifies. A great equalizer for the most poor and most wealthy families: the Apple iPad.
The Apple iPad was rolled out on April 3, 2010. Both relevant to the dawn of spring and the end of the aughts. A completely new and enchanting device to bring in the hopeful 2010s. The beginning of the age of über-technology, of everything smart. Overall, it was a huge deal in every way. A new remix of phones and computers, an electrification of the ancient stone tablet. This big-huge tablet that drew so much attention and intrigue to itself. It was a device of pure leisure, it served no unique purpose except to be big and occupy space. It was never meant to take over the personal computer, and it was never thought that it could take over the phone or the iPod. It also could not take over the phone, as it lacked calling and texting capabilities, and it was too big to compete as a music-listening device with the iPod. Why did we need to adopt this product into the cultural canon, and how did this product become synonymous with parenting?
The term “iPad kid” has been around since the late 2010s, becoming an extremely popular slang term around 2023. Meaning more than just ‘a kid with an iPad’, the visual for this child is often a kid who can not peel their eyes away from the screen, sticky fingered, blaring the most audibly overstimulating YouTube video you’ve ever heard, nearing on their 7th hour of screen time. 90% of iPad kid descriptions will also include ADHD and behavioral issues. Upon walking into any average American grocery store, you are guaranteed to see at least 4 iPad kids, ages ranging from 2-10. The parallels between a pacifier and an iPad have never been stronger.
The iPad has become entirely synonymous with the American family unit. A 2021 census from the US Census Bureau claims 80% of families with children own a tablet. The iPad is no longer a rare status symbol for well-off families, or a luxurious rarity to purchase when a parent gets a bonus, it is required for the family unit.
A simple and straightforward hypothesis for the relation of iPads and declining literacy rates is simply that screen time is replacing reading time. When kids are given an iPad or other tablet at a young and malleable age, maybe 2 or 3, they become bonded to it. The games, videos and constant stimulation train the child to feel calm, perfectly stimulated and comfortable, sometimes even giving them an extra dopamine spike. When the child wants to feel that sense of comfort again- they’re not going to reach for a book on the shelf or an ‘analog’ toy, they will reach for the iPad, it is what they have been trained to do. Then, when they do not get the iPad, it is overwhelmingly discomforting, creating a sense of confusion, anger and a shocking need for dopamine, similar to a drug addict. This is where behavioral issues and a formal dependency on the iPad begins. For hundreds of years, books were the source of joy, curiosity and natural escapism for children. In 2025, it has been replaced with the rechargeable tablet. When you go anywhere from public transit to the doctor’s waiting room, you will no longer see children waiting with books or puzzles or anything other than the iPad.
Tablet Talk
Children’s digital media, as opposed to books, is not the problem inherently. PBS kids has been making incredible, effective television content since 1970, and their online content has never fallen short either. New age YouTube creators such as ‘Ms. Rachel’ and ‘Ms. Houston’ [unaffiliated creators] have been proven to be wildly successful in their efforts. However, their success can be attributed to a couple of definite things. Both the real Ms. Rachel and Ms. Houston are accredited teachers with masters degrees in some form of education. Their content tries as best as possible to mirror traditional learning settings despite the inherent barrier of teaching through the screen. They use known and respected teaching methods, gentle voices and maintain a level of integrity throughout. Most YouTube content, in today’s age relies on overstimulating, gimmicky editing with fast scene changes, neon colors, rapid talking and other alarm-akin qualities to maintain engagement and keep young people coming back; something that Ms. Rachel and Ms. Houston does not.
Additionally, their content does not contain overt or subliminal advertising. One of the most pervasive issues across social media is the rise of sponsored content riddled with some form of advertising. YouTubers and other content creators do not often make money directly from their app of choice or their content consumers, but rather advertising sponsors. Sponsored creators who market to children weaponize their sponsorships against children who simply do not know any better; consumerism and education become inseparable.
Ms. Rachel and Ms. Houston, however, are true content creator rarities. Ineffective shows such as CocoMelon or ChuChu TV are far more common, and have been the subject of intense scrutiny over the past few years. CocoMelon, ChuChu and its related shows, are far more focused on engagement than anything else. Upon watching CocoMelon as an adult, you’re left with this odd feeling of moral bankruptcy, and even pity for these children. Lesson plans promote mimicry over understanding; memorize the phonetics, but don’t understand them. The sheer hyperchaos of the constantly changing scenes, constantly bouncing children and LSD-like visuals can not possibly serve a purpose besides acting as the engagement-entrancing-stimulant for little kids. Older Gen-Z critics have labeled this as brainrot, a term that means exactly what it says: content that rots the brain. In an environment such as YouTube, where successful content is prevalent, it begs the further question- how are parents allowing this? Are they that naive? Why has this form of objectively awful children’s media become so accepted?
I want to blame the parents but I find that it might not be professionally appropriate
With most generation alpha parents being millennials, who grew up with the internet, TV, phones, etc., one might assume that they would be better prepared to use the internet and technology to their children’s advantage. With virtually no actual data on millennial parents’ attitudes towards their children’s screen usage, only a scattering of op-eds online, it is incredibly difficult to make a generalization. Observation and anecdotal evidence are the only things to lean on. A brief informal survey that I conducted online, through the question function on Instagram, yielded some rough hypotheses: millennials are not sufficiently scared enough of the internet, millennials work more tiring schedules, “millennials are caught in a weird period where they’re generally still considered ‘young’”, etc. Overall, there was a common response that millennials have a widespread sociological need to be “fun” and retain their youthful chill, lax attitude into adulthood.
Solutions in progress
We know technology to be smart, to be the best parts of their human maker. Our best neurons and clearest thoughts funneled into objects that reflect ourselves more than we acknowledge. The computer; a beastly, beautiful Frankenstein son to the insecure and emotional engineer. Is this what allows us to trust these devices with an otherworldly faith and certainty- this subconscious delineation of these products as superhuman tools? Do we value the intelligence of an iPad because it is devoid of emotion and nurturing? Somehow along the way, our trust and respect has been misplaced, from the book to the computer chip.
There was never a clear, undebatable reason for the iPad to become a necessary parenting tool. The truth is- most families do not have to use it. iPads are never effective replacements for books, puzzles and toys, no matter how much tech x parenting pundits try to promote this. Effective teaching comes from real, emotional experience, not a simulated, diluted version on a screen.
We can not let books fall out of favor, or our literacy rates fall to the wayside. Literacy provides the basis to exist, to critically think and to stay powerful and alive. Letting our literacy rates tank is letting our community suffer, a cruel and unusual punishment for existing.
It may feel unfair to cherry-pick and blame tanking literacy rates on iPads, millennials and social media. The truth is, there are an unbelievable amount of contributors to our declining literacy rate, but we still must acknowledge these contributors as we see it. We must not only take objective measures, such as funding libraries, changing classroom policies, etc., but also rethink our relationship with learning. How do we effectively blend the [already integrated] tech with better ‘analog’ educational measures? How do we decrease screen time? How do we promote books to already tech-dependent kids? How do we create a new age of learning? Our relationship with tablets and modern day technology may still not be fully understood, but as users it is our responsibility to evaluate this ourselves and assess the world around us.