Screen-Free Week 2019
Celebrate Screen-Free Week!
From April 29-May 5, 2019, children, families, entire schools, and communities will rediscover the joys of life beyond the screen. Plan to unplug from digital entertainment and spend all that free time playing, reading, daydreaming, creating, exploring, and connecting with family and friends!
*except for work and school assignments
What is SFW
WHAT is Screen-Free Week?
Screen-Free Week is an annual, international celebration when families, schools, and communities swap digital entertainment for the joys of life beyond the screen. Instead of watching TV, surfing the web, or playing with apps and video games, they read, play, think, create, get active, and spend more time with family and friends.
Remember, Screen-Free Week is about taking a break from digital entertainment. You can celebrate, and still use devices for work or school. But if screens of any kind interfere with family time (including meals), you may want to rethink how and when you’re using them.
WHY Celebrate?
Regardless of whether children are consuming “good” or “bad” programming, it’s clear that digital entertainment dominates the lives of far too many kids, displacing all sorts of other activities that are integral to childhood. Excessive screen time is linked to poor school performance, childhood obesity, and attention problems. And it is primarily through screens that children are exposed to harmful marketing.
Screen-Free Week is a fun way to rethink our dependence on digital entertainment, including television, video games, smartphones, tablets, and computers. It’s a chance for children — and adults — to power down and reconnect with the world around them. And it encourages families to reconsider the role of digital entertainment in the year that follows (for example, some families become inspired to go screen-free at meals or in the hour before bedtime, or to spend part or all of their weekends screen-free).
WHO and WHERE?
Anyone can participate by simply refraining from using digital entertainment during Screen-Free Week. But experience tells us that it’s more fun – and much easier – to go screen-free with others. That’s why we hope you’ll become a Screen-Free Week Organizer.
You can organize Screen-Free Week in a classroom or entire school, with a scout troop, faith community, neighborhood association, at your local library or with any community group. Organizers and volunteers promote the week, reach out to partners, and help children and families discover fun, screen-free activities. If you can’t organize a whole week, consider hosting a screen-free event.
HOW to Organize:
Organizing is fun and easy. And to make it even easier, we’ve created an Organizer’s Kit to walk you through the process; it includes all the suggestions, activities and handouts you’ll need. Click here to download your free Organizer’s Kit today and get started on your Screen-Free Week!
“We are losing focus on what kids should really be doing to develop themselves physically, socially and academically… technology can be a wonderful thing, however, we kids, the future of America, need to be careful that we allow technology to enhance our lives but not take over them.”
Luke Roth
8th grader, Cornwall, NY
