Away for a Day is making schools smartphone-free to improve grades and mental health

By Tod Perry

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We have reached a tipping point where people are beginning to realize that the great social experiment of giving smartphones to children and teens has been disastrous for their mental health. Since young people started using smartphones about 15 years ago, there have been tremendous spikes in anxiety, depression and self-harm.

Big tech companies, such as Meta, have claimed there is no causal evidence that smartphones and social media are responsible for the mental health crisis. But we know that the rise in mental health problems began when young people started using smartphones and studies show that when kids take a break from social media for over a week, their mental health improves.

“There's enough data out there to show that it's not just correlational anymore. Clearly, some of this is causal and we're at this breaking point,” Lisa Tabb from Away for the Day told Upworthy.

The Away for a Day (AFTD) movement is working to reverse that trend by giving parents and schools resources to remove smartphones from the classroom. Tabb is also a former TV news producer and the co-producer of “Screenagers,” the first feature documentary to explore the impact of screen technology on kids and offer parents and families proven solutions that work.

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Read the full article here: https://www.upworthy.com/away-for-a-day-has-a-vision-for-smartphone-free-schools-and-you-can-help-make-it-happen