@AndyGER @arstechnica Speaking from a young person, who finished high school back in 2023.
I mean usually in high school, you just brought what you need plus a laptop (towards my later years/post-COVID), the books weren't that heavy at least as a teen. Some books were unpleasant to carry but you build up the strength from carrying a bag for years I guess.
In primary school usually you just kept books in tote tray at the school (outside of homework and mandatory books to read). Probably had more baggage weight from folders to hold trading cards given by the supermarket lmao.
There is actually some studies that do find that physical writing does help a lot of teaching and memorising information since you actually have to process through motor skills which then reinforce what is learnt visually. Even as someone studying IT who doesn't bring any books to college, writing with a stylus on my tablet in a note app greatly helps than just reading and pressing. Even if it is slower than typing.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-writing-by-hand-is-better-for-memory-and-learning