In a recent Washington Post op-ed, Clare Morell, a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, discusses how parents can successfully resist the digital tide by forming supportive communities of like-minded families who share the goal of keeping children’s childhoods screen-free.
Morell writes:
Individually, parents feel helpless to resist. But this is a collective action problem, and it requires a collective solution. It is possible to beat the digital tech crisis by creating counter-communities that resist screens together. And not just by keeping them out of school but delaying or forgoing their use entirely.
According to research, 95% of teenagers have access to smartphones and 45% admit they are “almost constantly” online. Mental health challenges including anxiety, depression, and self-harm have risen dramatically among adolescents, with early smartphone use linked to long-term issues.
In her article, Morell shares examples of communities that have successfully implemented this approach. She describes:
I visited one suburban neighborhood in the Washington area that looked like something out of the 1970s: Kids playing outside, riding bikes to one another’s houses, building forts, even arguing on the front lawn and working through conflicts themselves. No parents in sight. Best of all, no devices in sight.
Morell notes that these “Tech Exit” families reject the premise that smartphones are inevitable. Instead, they build networks of support, find workarounds when institutions require apps for participation, and push back against digital requirements. The outcome, according to Morell, is children who are engaged in real-world relationships and activities rather than being absorbed in virtual worlds.
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