A grassroots movement to protect middle school from smartphones and social media
Our mission is to unite parents who share a growing concern about the effects of early and excessive use of social media and smartphones. We are dedicated to building a community of informed and empowered parents who will delay giving their kids smartphones, and reverse the devastating trends we are seeing with teen mental health.
“My friends spend hours and hours on their phones. One of my friends spends up to eight hours daily! I use that time to read, play with my brothers, go outside for a neighborhood pickup basketball or whiffle ball game, or practice lacrosse.”
— Ryan from Darien, CT (6th Grader who does not have a smartphone)
If you’re like us, you have read some of the recent research on the adverse effects of too much screen time on children’s mental health and well-being. These studies seem to be everywhere these days, and it’s hard to miss them in today’s news cycles. Maybe you have engaged in discussions with peers or parents of older children, who throw up their hands and lament how out of control it all is: they can’t keep their kids off the phone, they are appalled at the vulgar language and content in group chats, or they fear that their child will become the next grade-wide bullying target. Perhaps, upon hearing all of this, you have also thrown up your hands and assumed that all of this is unavoidable.
Well, maybe not. We’re here, in the hope that we can all link arms and proactively work together to change the current cultural norms around kids and tech. No one wants their child to be the only one “left out” and the way we can make this happen is committing to delaying. Together.
Our strength is in numbers.
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Let’s give our kids a healthy childhood and the best chance to succeed.
Right now, by age 12, seven out of ten kids own a smartphone and spend about 8 hours a day online including social media. These hours take away from time spent laughing with their friends, communicating face to face with family, exploring hobbies and interests without the fear of being judged, and having the ability to grow up without the internet trying to influence them. We, as adults can help. As the old saying goes, “it takes a village to raise a child”. We invite you to join ours!