Two local sources tell us how technology is showing up for our young people: the district's own near-census student survey, taken every two years, and our community survey of Concord families from spring 2026. They point the same way, and this page shares both, with the numbers, how we gathered them, and what they do and don't tell us.
This page draws on two Concord datasets: the district's Emerson Youth Risk Behavior Survey, a near-census of students taken every two years, and our own spring 2026 survey of local families.
The student survey is larger and more representative, so it carries the most weight here. Our community survey is a self-selected snapshot, smaller but close to the family experience. Every figure is labeled with its source.
Both are descriptive. We show counts alongside percentages and read these as patterns in our community, not proof of cause.
The largest local source is the district's own Emerson Youth Risk Behavior Survey, a near-census of Concord-Carlisle students taken every two years. On phones and social media, students' answers point the same way families do.
of students feel they spend too much time on their phones, with the same share saying so about social media. That feeling climbs with age, reaching 60% by twelfth grade.
of high schoolers say they lose focus in class at least occasionally because they are checking their phone, up from 15% in sixth grade.
of high schoolers keep a phone in the bedroom at night. Across all grades, 7% of students wake at least once a night to a device.
More from the same survey: students report a median of 2.7 hours a weekday on devices for non-school activities and 2.2 hours on social media; 28% feel they must answer messages immediately, often or always; and parent monitoring of phone use falls from 70% in sixth grade to 31% in high school.
Source: the 2024 Emerson Youth Risk Behavior Survey, Concord-Carlisle Regional School District, conducted in spring 2024 by Market Street Research for Emerson Health and the district. 79% of the district's 1,677 enrolled students responded. Figures are for Concord-Carlisle students, with the group and response count shown beside each headline. Descriptive associations, not causal claims.
Our spring 2026 community survey asked Concord families how technology shows up in our schools and how heard they feel. Three findings stood out.
flagged cell phones or screen time during the school day as a concern, the two most-cited worries in the survey.
do not have a clear understanding of how the personal device policy is enforced. 16 respondents, 23%, say they do.
say a K-8 Technology Advisory Committee would be "extremely valuable," the clearest point of consensus in the survey.
Respondents could select as many concerns as applied. Shares are of the 71 Concord public-school respondents.
| Excessive screen time during school hours | 53 · 75% |
| Student cell phone access or use during the school day | 51 · 72% |
| Online safety and exposure to inappropriate content | 50 · 70% |
| Use of screen time in schools during free time or as a reward | 46 · 65% |
| Amount of time spent doing homework on school-issued computers | 38 · 54% |
| Implementation of AI tools for student use (e.g., generative AI for assignments or tutoring support) | 33 · 46% |
| Data privacy and protection of student information | 32 · 45% |
| Reliance on personal smartphones for school activities (e.g., QR codes for signups or contests) | 31 · 44% |
| Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools by educators (e.g., for grading, lesson planning, or student evaluation) | 28 · 39% |
| Use of social media by school clubs, teams, or programs for required communications | 26 · 37% |
| Limited digital literacy or responsible technology use in education | 19 · 27% |
| I am not concerned about school-based technology use | 1 · 1% |
Each bar represents all 71 respondents, divided by how they answered. These three questions are where the gap between families and the district shows most clearly.
Rounded percentages here sum to 99; the counts are exact.
Rounded percentages here sum to 101; the counts are exact.
The survey asked about a K-8 Technology Advisory Committee that would bring families, educators, and administrators together on technology decisions. No other question drew agreement this strong. It's the single clearest signal in the survey, and it points toward partnership, not opposition.
Beyond the checkboxes, families wrote in concerns of their own. The themes below recur across those write-ins.
Our community survey stays open, and every response sharpens the family side of the picture. Take it, share it with a neighbor, or join the coalition to hear what comes next.