FAQ

Many experts, from child psychologists to internet safety leaders – and even technology executives – agree that it is best to wait until at least 14 before exposing children to smartphones. Social media and apps are designed to encourage addictive behaviors and studies show that using screens for several hours a day can impair children’s cognitive^[1] and language abilities^[2], quality of sleep^[3], and may even thin the cortex of their brain.^[2]Constant stimulation from addictive apps, along with exposure to harmful social interactions that children’s developing minds are not ready for, can cause cortisol to rise and has led to an explosion of anxiety and depression in adolescents.

After careful consideration, some families have decided to allow their children to connect with peers via texting and Facetime on a stripped-down iPad kept at home. This can be a nice, slow “on-ramp” where they connect socially with their friends online, but also in a safe space. Everything can be removed on the iPad except iMessage and FaceTime (no App Store, games, internet browser, etc). This way they can easily get by without needing a fully connected smartphone.

No one walks around with an iPad in their pocket like a smartphone. The smartphone is a mini-computer in your child’s hands all day every day, whereas an iPad is more often used within the home or for travel. It’s not used as often as a phone, or for as long.

An old-school approach is not bad! My sister has used a landline phone at home for a few years, and I have found it super cute when my daughter calls her cousins and grandpa on the landline! My family followed this great idea and have secured a Fongo phone. The cost is only a few dollars a month, and we are hoping our daughter’s close friends and other families will do it too.

Pinwheel created a unique operating system that lets kids be kids. Pinwheel supports outdoor play, book reading, and spending time with friends. The Pinwheel phone excludes everything that leads to poor quality screen time, including web browsers and social media platforms. In addition, there is no App Store on the phone accessible to children. A selection of beneficial apps that have been approved by a board of therapists are available for parents to add to the phone in the parent portal.

The truth is that many families have navigated middle school phone-free for decades. The school office phone is available when your child needs to reach you or when you need to reach them. Coaches and teachers have phones the child can use in emergencies. In many districts, students have regular access to school-issued email. Yes, your children are reachable!

Consider buying your child a basic phone that just calls and texts without access to the internet or online apps, or a two-way calling watch. The basic phone avoids many of the distractions and dangers of the smartphone. Most major carriers offer flip phones or other basic phones as low-cost options.

Yes. The Pledge is for smartphones only. If you get a smartwatch for your child, keep some things in mind. They can be very distracting, especially at school. In addition, a child can access some inappropriate content on some smartwatches. You can turn off notifications on the watch during the school day and disable your child’s ability to download apps onto the watch. Check out this guide from Protect Young Eyes if you are considering an Apple Watch or something similar.

No! It is never too late to change your mind as a parent. Please share with your child that many families in their grade have decided that it is better to wait to have a smartphone until at least age 14. You can discuss with your child the many reasons families in their community are waiting until their children are older.

You can be honest with your children about why you have changed your approach. We know more now than we used to. Circumstances and community constantly shape how parents make decisions for each child. You can reassure them that other children in their grade are following the same path and they will not be the only person without a smartphone.

By banding together, we can decrease the social pressure within the child’s grade to have a smartphone. By signing the online Pledge, you promise not to give your child a smartphone until at least age 14, as long as at least five families from your child’s grade and school also sign the Pledge. As soon as five families have signed, you will be notified that the Pledge is in effect! We will not share your information with any third party outside of our organization and your personal information will not be made public.

You will receive an email from Unplugged within one to two business days with tips and suggestions on how to rally other parents from your child’s school to sign the Pledge. If you do not receive an email after a couple of days, please notify us via email at at [email protected]

Only when the Pledge becomes active (when 5 families of the same school grade have signed the Pledge), your surname will be shared with the other parents who signed the Pledge. We will not share your email, your child’s name or their school’s name with anyone, and will never post it publicly. We want to help build a community of like-minded parents that are open to discuss this topic, which is why we believe sharing your family name is important.

Simply sign the Pledge yourself and encourage other parents in your school community to sign as well. Once you take the Pledge, you will receive an email in one to two business days with suggestions on how to spread the word.

Yes! Please go to our Research page for many materials you may share in your community.

Yes, the Unplugged Pledge is only in Canada, but we plan to expand it to South America in the future. There is a very similar movement in the US called Wait Until 8th which is gaining traction too.