Campaigns & resources

Airplane Mode is a movement to turn off addictive technologies and “bring young people back to third spaces”. Founded by Gen Z activists, they currently host phone-free, in-person meetups in the DC metro region.

SEUT aims to empower high school students with a deep understanding of the importance of ethics in data and technology, fostering responsible and socially conscious future leaders. They develop and disseminate an ethics curriculum and maintain a network of schools, tech companies, and universities to offer guest speakers, mentorship, and volunteer opportunities for students.

Appstinence was started by Gabriela Nguyen at the Harvard Innovation Labs. They describe themselves as a social movement led by Gen Z “to revert the social atrophy and moral degradation of an entire generation (but also everyotne else) rooted in the normalization of addictive technology”. They sponsor a recurring Deletion Day, advocate fo screen-free classrooms, and promote their 5D Method to wean oneself off of addictive apps.

This campaign, run by a nonprofit, is raising awareness of the dangers of both smartphones and social media for children. Their stated goal is to inspire and empower others to create smartphone-free childhoods by connecting, collaborating, sharing resources, and finding support. This feature in Time Magazine explains the backstory behind their founder, Laura Derrendinger, and her motivations to launch this effort.

Wait til 8th is a campaign (and parent movement) that involves a pledge to delay giving children a smartphone until at least the end of 8th grade. On the site you’ll find informational articles and information about local chapters that you can join or start to advocate for this campaign in your own schools or communities. You can also access digital trainings, including best practices, family conversation guides, and playbooks for popular social media platforms.

This advocacy initiative aims to empower parents, educators, and administrators pushing for bans on phones and smart devices during school hours. They offer administrator and parent toolkits as well as an ambassador program, which is allows access to an “advocate hub” providing resources like toolkits, templates, and access to their private online community. The site positions PFSM staff as ongoing support while you work with your school.

A social movement – presently in Europe but expanding globally – to connect with one another IRL, sans devices. They host a variety of offline events and experiences from offline cafe hangouts to phone-free dinners with strangers. Explore meetups or start a chapter yourself.

This movement, co-founded by Jonathan Haidt (author of The Anxious Generation) and Lenore Skenazy (author of Free-Range Kids), encourages parents and schools to foster children’s independence. They offer many resources for educators and parents, including toolkits for self-organizing play clubs.

This parent-led, community organizing movement was created to help find a realistic, sustainable balance between screen-life and real-life. They encourage healthy technology practices, and offer resources for parents to join or create local chapters.

Beyond the Screen is an organization dedicated to holding social media companies accountable. They frequently host live events in Pennsylvania, and a number of online events with thought leaders.