FAQs

“Wait, but…”

I go on social media. Am I a hypocrite?

No! Research shows that, like driving a car or drinking alcohol, a certain level of maturity is required to handle social media properly. Adults have different privileges than children, and that’s OK. There are many sad cases where smart kids get into bad situations because they have access to technology they can’t maturely manage. Here are 3 examples of adolescents who were victims of sextortion scams, generated fake AI porn images, and connected with predators on social media.

• Teenager Died By Suicide After Sextortion Scam
• Fake Nudes of Real Students Cause an Uproar
• Predators trying to connect with young teens using online platforms

No social media until graduation feels a bit extreme, wouldn’t age 14 or 16 be a more realistic target?

Looking at the research, we can all agree that older is a better. 14 is better than 12. 16 is better than 14. And if our kids never wanted to join social media, we’d be thrilled. Is graduation a stretch goal? Absolutely. Our hope is that by stating this as a community value and family rule starting in elementary school, we have more chance of it becoming our community’s normal. Our kids grow up thinking “no social media until graduation” is normal. We can’t do this alone, but together as a community we stand a chance. We hope you choose to join us in trying.  

What about teaching moderation?

Absolutely! The challenge with social media specifically is it is designed to be addictive, delivering strategic dopamine hits to your brain to keep you engaged as long as possible. A telling sign is Silicon Valley tech executives who designed this technology and understand how addictive and damaging it is don’t allow their own kids to use it. Bill Gates didn’t allow his children to have phones until age 14 and numerous other tech execs have taken similar stances.

• Facebook Knows Instagram Is Toxic for Teen Girls, Company Documents Show
• Tech execs protect their kids from their own products. America’s children deserve the same
• Former Facebook exec says social media is ripping apart society
• The tech moguls who invented social media have banned their children from it

I don’t want my kid to be the only one offline.

Neither do we! That’s our big ‘why’ behind the pact. Send this link to your child’s friend’s parents now and start a conversation. See what they’re thinking.

My kid is 2.

Awesome! Sign up! The earlier we can align on our values as a community, the more successful we’ll be in delivering that reality to our children.

I signed the pact, so what’s next?

Send the link to your friends and spread the word! We are proposing making an annual re-commitment to the pact. Thank you for sharing your email, we will reach out.

I have ideas on how to do more with this.

Love it! See the Contact page, reach out to us to get involved.