Ambassadors

Our family—Brandie, Sean, and our daughter Shay—is committed to strengthening our connection by prioritizing quality time together, free from the distractions of phones. The constant impulse to turn to a screen for answers or validation pulls us away from meaningful interactions and shared experiences. Instead, we want to foster curiosity and problem-solving within our family, encouraging each other to ask questions, share knowledge, and grow closer through collaboration. We’re also passionate about cultivating Shay’s love for the outdoors, continuing our long-standing tradition of seeking adventure and discovery in nature, not on a screen. The Unplugged program provides the perfect framework to support these values and helps us stay intentional about building a stronger, more present family dynamic. We would like to foster a play-based childhood without Shay and all children feeling the pressures of having to have a phone. We're excited to support Bialik in this initiative.

As an educator, I believe that technology can be a very useful learning tool. However, with too much access and limited guidelines at a young age, technology can be harmful to young, developing brains. As parents, we need to do a better job of protecting our children from the long term, detrimental effects of social media use at a young age. This initiative is giving parents a platform to voice their concerns, and providing hope that change is possible. 

I am hopeful that the majority of our Bialik parent group are like-minded and will commit to the Uplugged Bialik pledge. I am hopeful that this initiative will bring awareness to local MPs and our government that parents are concerned, and we demand more laws to protect our children from social media. I am hopeful that with enough pressure, Canada will implement laws banning social media use under a certain age.

We are delighted to be a part of this incredible initiative to promote a healthy environment with minimal screen time for our three boys.

We are hopeful that Bialik Unplugged will build and foster a balanced lifestyle for our kids and our community.

We joined Unplugged Bialik because we believe in the importance of disconnecting from screens and reconnecting with nature, family and community. As committee members, we want to help create meaningful experiences that inspire others to embrace a more present and intentional way of living.

Allowing kids to use smartphones at a young age can have negative impacts on their development. Excessive screen time can hinder social skills, reduce attention span and disrupt sleep patterns. Smartphones further the risk of exposing children to inappropriate content and cyber bullying. We support Unplugged Bialik in encouraging face-to-face interactions, outdoor activities and creative play to foster healthy growth and ensure children's well-being. Children are too young to appreciate the deleterious impact screens have on their lives. Moderation and careful supervision are key to balancing technology with real-world experiences.

We are incredibly proud to be ambassadors for the Bialik Unplugged initiative.  

Bialik Unplugged aligns with the important research in Jonathan Haidt’s The Anxious Generation, recognizing the profound impact that social media and mobile phone access has on youth, contributing to rising levels of anxiety, depression, and developmental challenges.  

By advocating for a more balanced, tech-free environment, we are helping to create healthier, more present and more resilient children. 

We stand by this initiative, believing that fostering real-world connections and mindful engagement will empower the next generation to thrive. 

Like many families eager to make a positive impact at our school, we have been inspired by Jonathan Haidt's compelling research in The Anxious Generation. For years, we’ve discussed—and dreaded—the inevitable day when we might give in to our kids’ pleas for smartphones during their elementary school years. Haidt’s work has given us hope that this future isn’t set in stone.

We’re excited to connect with other families who share these concerns, as well as those who might just need a supportive nudge from their peers to take part in this important initiative. Together, we can make meaningful changes that will benefit not only our kids but the entire school community.

As a family, we’ve observed the subtle yet profound ways smartphones shape our attention and behavior. We recognize that we, as adults, are not immune to this influence: the relentless tug of digital platforms, powered by sophisticated algorithms, has managed to draw us away from the tangible world unfolding in front of us. We find ourselves less present, more fragmented, and increasingly susceptible to an environment engineered to monopolize our attention.

Our motivation to participate in Unplugged Bialik arises from a genuine desire to foster a richer, more authentic experience of childhood for our children. This isn’t simply about withholding devices; it’s about granting them the opportunity to cultivate meaningful relationships and a deeper understanding of themselves—free from the constant pull of digital enticements. By joining a community of like-minded families, we hope to create conditions in which children can develop the resilience, empathy, and mental clarity essential to leading fulfilled lives.

In essence, we believe that through thoughtful disengagement from these digital demands, we can help restore the kind of human connection and self-awareness that our increasingly connected world has quietly eroded.

We are thrilled to be part of the Unplugged Bialik initiative. As parents of three young children, we are passionate about supporting, and sustaining, their engagement in real-world play and limiting access to smartphones. With our oldest son only in the first grade, we have not yet been challenged with the question, “mom and dad, can I have a smartphone?” We are therefore in a unique position to affect real change by setting what we believe to be age-appropriate limits to the virtual world.  

Through Unplugged Bialik, we hope to inspire interest amongst parents in the benefits of making our school, and our community, a smartphone-free zone for our children. We hope that parents who are in support of, or curious about the initiative will access the Unplugged Bialik community to learn, ask questions and engage in a dialogue about how to maintain healthy relationships for children in the real world, while setting reasonable limits to the virtual one. 

As parents of four young children, we are deeply passionate about the Unplugged Bialik initiative. With our oldest entering the age where smartphones and social media are becoming prevalent, we have read numerous books and articles highlighting the alarming statistics about the negative impacts these technologies can have on young minds.

We believe that tackling this issue requires a collective effort from society, beginning with parents and extending to school leaders. A bottom-up approach led by parents, combined with a top-down strategy from school administrations, creates a powerful framework for change. We see Unplugged Bialik as an incredible tool to help us stay accountable and to provide our children with the best possible environment for success.

Our family is happy to be ambassadors for Unplugged Bialik. Danielle is a Registered Behavioural Analyst and sees the negative impact of social media and screen time on the development and mental health of young children in her practice. With two young girls at home, we are motivated to promote an unplugged environment where kids can be kids, developing face-to-face in person relationships and enjoying the outdoors. By delaying the use of phones and social media while promoting real-world activities, we can foster independence, creativity and confidence. We feel strongly that delaying social media will reduce anxiety, depression, hyperactivity, bullying and other mental health disorders and will increase happiness. We are passionate about Unplugged Bialik and look forward to raising our children within a community of like-minded families.

We both feel very fortunate to have grown up at a time where social interactions were in person rather than mostly online. When we first heard about the Unplugged initiative, we were immediately aligned with the objective, and eager to be a part of it. As parents of young children, we believe this initiative is crucial for their social and emotional development.  

Early access to smartphones exposes children to a range of risks, from cyberbullying and inappropriate content to the pressure of social media. There is already an ongoing rise in mental health challenges and constant digital stimulation exacerbates this. Limiting screen time allows kids to focus on building real-world social skills, emotional intelligence, and a healthy sense of self. 

We are excited to share our passion for this initiative with other parents and hope that as a collective our children continue to grow up with mostly in person interactions with friends, and only have access to online social accounts at an appropriate age where they have the emotional intelligence and capacity to manage the online world.

We are deeply passionate about the Unplugged Bialik initiative as parents of a 12-year-old girl and 9-year-old boy. We’ve witnessed firsthand the negative effects that early exposure to social media can have on young minds. The constant comparison, unrealistic expectations, feeling of exclusion and emotional challenges with friends can be overwhelming.  We want to help other families with young children to avoid this as much as possible. We believe the key to fostering healthy, well-rounded children starts with delaying the introduction to social media until they are emotionally and mentally ready and then guiding them with proper knowledge on how to manage the technology and the feelings. This, however, can truly only be done with like-minded parents.

We hope Unplugged Bialik will empower parents with the support to delay the introduction of smart phones in a mindful way, by allowing kids to experience the world without the distractions of social media, excessive video games and more. Our goal is to provide children the opportunity to develop essential life skills, including managing boredom, cultivating creativity and understanding the consequences of their actions online. With this, hopefully kids will grow into thoughtful, resilient individuals who are equipped to handle the challenges of the digital age, all while maintaining the joy of being kids for as long as possible.