Jake and Spike lock away phones on-air in response to recent report of phone usage in schools

A recent study from the Seattle Children’s Research Institute (SCRI) found that students spend about 25% of the school day on their phones.

“The research revealed adolescents spent an average of 1.5 hours on smartphones during their 6.5 hours of school, accounting for 27% of their average 24-hour phone use,” according to the SCRI study.

SCRI researchers recruited and tracked teens’ cellphone activity countrywide and analyzed the data.

“I have been very public about the fact that I’m not going to let my kids use smartphones,” KIRO host Jake Skorheim said on “The Jake and Spike Show.” “Ironically, smartphones make you dumb, and I don’t want my kids to be dumb. They say 90 minutes of that (school) day at least is spent on phones, unbelievable. And you’re not doing schoolwork on your phone. You’re texting your friend, you’re looking up your social circle. I wasn’t even allowed to chew gum. We couldn’t wear hats at my school growing up. How is it possible that the kid has 90 minutes to just stare at their phone?”

“It’s a failure of the school administrations, I think,” KIRO host Spike O’Neill said. “But is this an unwinnable war for schools to keep kids focused on the curriculum at hand? They’re in this culture, and the world they know is to be interactive and connected to the entirety of their social network, the information universe, and everything in between.”

Twenty-six states have passed laws either limiting or banning the use of cell phones on campuses. Florida was the first state to pass a law regulating the use of cellphones in schools back in 2023. In Washington, the Snoqualmie Valley School District implemented a new phone policy that limits the use of personal technology on campuses.

The district’s early findings from this decision? Teachers have reported fewer classroom interruptions, increased student engagement, and improved peer-to-peer communication.

Jake and Spike challenge each other to not use their phones

“Can they ask these kids to stop using their phones? Can the kids make it six hours without their phone?” Spike asked. “Because, I said to you, I don’t think I could go the entire show without looking at my phone, just three hours.”

“I could,” Jake said in response to his co-host.

“Want to bet?” Spike asked Jake. “Here’s what we’ll do. You and I will take our phones and we’ll put them on the camera that’s in front of the studio for our YouTube channel. You can watch us and monitor us from home to keep us honest, and we’re going to put our phones over there in front of the camera. We’re not going to look at our phones until we sign off today. Loser has to buy lunch tomorrow, gotta feed the show tomorrow.”

Listen to the full conversation here.

Listen to “The Jake and Spike Show” weekdays from noon to 3 p.m. on KIRO Newsradio 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.