71% of Israeli Students Spend Five or More Hours a Day on Their Smartphone, New Israel Sci-Tech Schools Study Finds

Aug 24, 2026 by

TEL AVIV, Israel (August 24, 2026) – A new nationwide study released today by Israel Sci-Tech Schools, Israel’s largest independent charter school network, finds that 71% of students spend at least five hours a day on their smartphone – with nearly half receiving their first device before age 8. The study, which surveyed 2,470 students across the network from 7th through 12th grade, examines how smartphone and screen use may be connected to attention deficit issues in the classroom, looking at when students first got a smartphone, how much time they spend on screens, early signs of compulsive use, emotional reliance on devices, exposure to harmful online content, and how much parents know about their children’s smartphone activity.

The survey drew responses from students across every grade in the network’s secondary schools, with 372 respondents from 7th grade, 312 from 8th grade, 372 from 9th grade, 739 from 10th grade, 551 from 11th grade, and 124 from 12th grade – 2,470 students in total.

Smartphone ownership itself is now nearly universal among Israeli teenagers: 99% of respondents said they currently own a smartphone. What stood out to researchers was how early ownership typically begins. Asked how old they were when they got their first device, 14% of students said before elementary school, 37% said during 1st or 2nd grade, and 34% said during 3rd or 4th grade, while just 9% said 5th or 6th grade and 5% said during middle school. Taken together, a combined 85% of students received their first smartphone before the end of 4th grade, meaning the overwhelming majority of Israeli children are handed round-the-clock access to screens years before adolescence even begins.

The study’s screen-time findings point to just how central smartphones have become to students’ daily lives. Beyond the 71% who spend at least five hours a day on their phone, 58% said they spend at least three additional hours a day on other electronic screens on top of their smartphone use, and 43% said they spend at least eight hours a day in front of screens altogether. Fifteen percent admitted to using their smartphone during class or school hours. Social media dominates that time: 55% of students said social media is the main use of their smartphone, and 81% said they spend more than three hours a day on social media alone.

The survey also probed for early signs of compulsive smartphone use. Ten percent of students said it’s hard for them to focus in class or complete tasks because of the urge to use their smartphones, and 18% said they often forget to do assignments or tasks because they were busy with their phones. Twenty-two percent said they feel restless when they don’t have their smartphone with them, and 32% said they have used their smartphone for longer than they had planned to.

Emotional reliance on devices was another theme in the data. Thirty-three percent of students said they prefer to distract themselves with their smartphone rather than deal with emotional or stressful situations, and 39% said using their smartphone simply makes them feel better. Twenty-two percent said they use their smartphone even while spending time with friends or at social events.

The study also touched on content exposure and online safety: 19% of students reported being exposed to bad language, insults, or other negative content on the platforms they use, and 8% said content calling for violent action is common on those platforms.

Parental oversight, meanwhile, appears to be limited. Seventy-four percent of students reported that their smartphone has no parental monitoring application installed, and 53% said their parents have no clear idea what’s happening on their phone.

Students themselves are divided on whether schools should intervene. Nineteen percent said they support limiting smartphone use during the school day, and 24% said they had not yet formed an opinion – meaning 43% of students do not reject the idea of restricting smartphone use during school hours. Still, a majority, 57%, said they are against limiting smartphone use during the school day.

Raz Frohlich, CEO of Israel Sci-Tech Schools Network

Raz Frohlich, CEO of Israel Sci-Tech Schools Network

“When 71% of our students are spending five or more hours a day on their smartphones, and 85% got their first device before fourth grade, we are watching attention, mental health, and real-world relationships pay the price,” said Raz Frohlich, CEO of Israel Sci-Tech Schools Network. “Our role as an educational network is to teach young people to control technology – not to be controlled by it.”

Frohlich added that the network has launched a pilot program to strengthen student attention, in partnership with the Attention Revolution movement. “Every school that joins the program takes on a real commitment – a lead point person to guide the process, management and staff involved in shared learning sessions, and a clear picture of where students, teachers, and parents stand today. From there, each school builds its own intervention plan, because local leadership knows its own community best.”

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