In Sewickley, Pennsylvania, a movement is gaining momentum to safeguard children from the negative impacts of technology. Just like MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) once did, a grassroots group called MAMA (Mothers Against Media Addiction) is emerging across the country. This group is dedicated to protecting kids and promoting real-life experiences.

Technology's Impact on Childhood

Technology is having a profound effect on childhood. There is less play, shorter attention spans, and an increased dependence on devices. As kids grow older, the problems become more pronounced. One mom from Wexford shared her experience of her teenage daughter being sexually harassed online. "It was very difficult for my daughter, and I saw how so many other people were being negatively affected by what was happening [online], whether it was bullying, sexual harassment, sextortion, passing of nude images, you name it," she said.Studies show that 93% of kids ages 13 to 17 use social media, and more than 1 in 3 say they use it almost constantly. This makes it challenging for parents to act individually to ban social media for their kids as it has become a common form of social connection among teenagers.

Colette Walsh's Perspective

Colette Walsh from Sewickley believes that parents are in an unfair battle. "These devices are everywhere, and they've become socially acceptable for kids and adults to have everywhere at any time," she said.Jessica Elefante, a co-chair for the Brooklyn, New York, chapter of MAMA, emphasizes the need for collective action. "This is why we do the work we do. It sucks. It’s heavy. We should not have to be dealing with this. Raising kids is hard enough. We should be able to enjoy their childhood. They should be able to enjoy their childhoods," she told the group while reading from her book, "Raising Hell, Living Well."

Pittsburgh's First Chapter and Sewickley's Unplugged

Pittsburgh was the first chapter of Mothers Against Media Addiction outside of Brooklyn, and they are already making a difference. Walsh and 235 families in the Sewickley area joined forces this summer to form Sewickley Unplugged. With Quaker Valley School administrators, they improved technology policies in their elementary and middle schools.This includes implementing a "away for the day" policy where students face disciplinary consequences if they are seen using a phone or smart watch in school without permission. Elementary school students are no longer required to bring home their school laptops each night."We all have the same goals in mind, and what we realized very quickly is that there are a lot of policies and technology uses that started in COVID that no one's really stopped to kind of reevaluate," Walsh said.

The Research on Technology and Kids

The research on how technology can harm kids is mounting. The average teenager spends 4.8 hours a day on social media. Fifteen percent of teenagers report seeing online pornography at age 10 or younger, and 1 in 8 kids ages 13 to 15 report unwanted sexual advances on Instagram in the previous week.Experts believe these are some of the reasons why suicide is now the second-leading cause of death for kids ages 10 to 14. All of these reasons are why more than 200 families in the Sewickley area have signed an online pledge to wait until their child is in at least ninth grade to give them a smartphone. Some give them a flip phone until then.

MAMA's Impact and Future

Mothers Against Media Addiction in New York has helped change laws in the state and is currently working to get the Kids Online Safety Act passed through Congress. The last time Congress passed a law to protect children on the internet was in 1998 - before Instagram, TikTok, or even the iPhone.There are now 26 chapters of MAMA in 16 states, and 34 more chapters are on a waitlist as the movement grows rapidly. If you'd like to learn more or start a group in your community, go to MAMA's website.To learn more about what the Sewickley community is doing, go to their website.For more on activities in the Pittsburgh region for kids to help them get off technology, go to kidsburgh.org.