We are actively seeking community members who would like to help with local initiatives: device-free playground dates, group bike rides, book groups, and more.
Do you have an idea and would love to see it happen? Let us know!
We believe
Technology is a good thing when used intentionally, as a tool, and with purpose.
Kids grow best from real life play and time spent with people.
Childhood is being rewired by screen time.
The longer we wait to give children devices, the healthier they will be.
Schools should be places to learn and grow emotional & soft skills, not marketplaces for tech companies to collect and resell your child’s data.
Teachers should focus on teaching and kids should focus on learning.
We value
Free Roam Play: Encourage phone free independence in the community by allowing children more freedom. Provide safe places in the community for parent check-ins.
Encourage A Slow-Tech Childhood & Adolescence: Unify as parents so our kids can enjoy a large and thriving phone & social media free group of friends and eliminate the fear of feeling left out.
Phone-Free Schools: Collaborate to encourage all Sewickley-area schools to become completely personal electronic device and social media free.
A cultural shift does not happen in a silo. We recognize that parents & caregivers, educators, and community members must work together to effect change.
That is why PA Unplugged’s advocacy efforts span across our homes, schools, and communities.
We partner with national experts and nonprofit organizations, including Distraction-Free Schools Policy Project and Smartphone Free Childhood US.
Our state coalition is made up of local grassroots efforts, Wait Until 8th groups, M.A.M.A. chapters, and other initiatives across Pennsylvania.
Collective Action Starts Here: Sign the Community Commitment
Sewickley Unplugged is one of many local groups within PA Unplugged. PA Unplugged is a statewide coalition working towards a cultural shift on the approach to electronic devices and social media and the impact on childhood and adolescence. Through this coalition, communities are able to find likeminded families. Who else in your school and grade level is "unplugged"?
This commitment is a tool for connection, not comparison or judgement. We believe when families make this decision together, it becomes more sustainable and less isolating.
We commit to waiting until at least 9th grade to give our child(ren) a smart phone. Prior to high school, we will explore "talk and text" only devices for communication needs.
Delay social media until we feel it will be a positive addition to our children's lives.
We support PA legislation for bell-to-bell phone-free school policies.
As parents & guardians, we will try to model positive technology behaviors in and outside of the home.
As stakeholders in our community, we support free-roam childhoods and encourage screen-free experiences in our communities.
Contact: sewickleyunplugged@gmail.com