🌳 Berkeley, CA

Life happens
off the screen.

Berkeley Unplugged is a parent community sharing resources, research, and real connection for raising kids in the digital age — together.

11
elementary schools
3
middle schools
1
high school
4
shared goals

We started Berkeley Unplugged because we believe our kids deserve true human connection with their peers in their crucial growing up years, rather than being glued on to screens at school and at home. Let's take our power back and give our children the freedom from smartphones.

"We have overprotected our children in the real world and under-protected them online."
— Jonathan Haidt, The Anxious Generation
How to get started
1

Sign up by school & grade

Register for your child's BUSD school and grade — see who's already joined, be listed as a supporter, and get added to our occasional newsletter. One form for everything.

Sign up →
2

Take the pledge with your community

Commit with your community to delay smartphones until at least high school. The pledge only works when families do it together — so the more who join, the stronger it becomes.

Join & pledge →
3

Invite your class / social group

After signing up you get a personal invite link for your grade. Share it in the class group chat, email thread, or with friends in your social circle — the more families who join, the easier it is for everyone.

Sign up to get your link → Smartphone alternatives →
4

Be a parent ambassador

Step up as a parent ambassador for your school — attend events, talk to other parents, and help build the movement grade by grade. Our liaison toolkit gives you everything you need.

Get the toolkit →
🎯 What we stand for

Our shared goals

Four evidence-backed commitments to protect childhood in Berkeley — not rules, but rallying points we pursue together.

"We have overprotected our children in the real world and under-protected them online."
— Jonathan Haidt, The Anxious Generation
📱

Delay smartphones

Research supports delaying smartphones until at least 9th grade, and using low-tech options like Apple Watch or flip phones in the meantime. Collective problems require collective solutions — it's easier when we do this together.

Wait Until 8th
💬

Delay social media

Research recommends no social media until 16. Before this age, adolescents' brains are still developing emotional regulation and impulse control — making them especially vulnerable to social comparison and online pressures.

Protect adolescents
🏫

Healthy Tech at BUSD

Advocating for less screen usage in BUSD elementary and middle schools. Kids learn more when they're fully present — and schools that limit devices see real improvements in focus and connection.

BUSD schools
🌳

Healthy Tech at Home

Kids learn more from what we do than what we say. We're working to be mindful about our own tech use — narrating why we use our phones, creating tech-free rituals, and showing balance every day.

At home

We're not anti-technology.

Our goal isn't to tell anyone how to parent. It's to make sure every Berkeley family knows they're not alone in wanting balance, connection, and support in the digital age.

When enough families stand together, it stops feeling so hard. Your child won't be the only one without a smartphone. The norm can shift — but only if we move together.

Ready to join us?

Sign up, be counted, and connect with families at your child's school.

📅 Berkeley, CA

Come together

Events where Berkeley families connect in real life — no screens required.

Upcoming Events
📅

Events coming soon!

We're planning our first Berkeley Unplugged gatherings. Sign up for our newsletter to be the first to know when events are announced.

Have an idea for an event?

We're always looking for families to help host and organize. Every great gathering starts with one person raising their hand.

📚 Knowledge base

Resources

Books, research, pledges, and tools to help your family navigate technology with intention.

Smartphone Alternatives
☎️

Home landline

The simplest option of all — a home phone your child can use to call and be reached. No internet, no apps, no social media. Many families find this is all they need for younger kids.

📞

Tin Can

A modern twist on the landline designed for kids. Simple calls only, no internet, no social media. A great bridge before a phone of any kind.

tincan.kids →
📱

Flip phone / dumb phone

Basic calls and texts only — no apps, no internet, no social media. Reliable, affordable, and hard to get distracted on. A popular choice for middle schoolers who need to stay reachable.

⌚

Apple Watch (cellular)

Calls and texts on the wrist without a full smartphone. Works well for kids who are active or need GPS. Pairs with a parent's iPhone for easy oversight.

Pledges & Organizations
✍️

Wait Until 8th Pledge

Families commit together to wait until 8th grade before giving their child a smartphone. Join thousands of families across the country.

waituntil8th.org →
🌐

Let Grow

Practical tools for schools and families to restore real-world independence to kids — with research, lesson plans, and a free-range parenting framework.

letgrow.org →
🔒

Yonder Pouch

The phone-free pouch system used by schools nationwide to keep kids present and focused during the school day.

yonder.co →
🏫 For School Liaisons

Liaison Toolkit

Are you a parent volunteer helping spread the word at your school? This toolkit has everything you need to recruit families, start conversations, and build momentum in your grade and school community.

👋

Your role as a liaison

You're the friendly face of Berkeley Unplugged at your school. Your job is simple: have honest conversations with other parents, share the signup link for your grade, and let them know they're not alone. You don't need to be an expert — you just need to care.

💬

What to say to parents

Try something like: "I signed up for Berkeley Unplugged — it's a group of Berkeley parents who are trying to delay smartphones and social media together. The idea is that it's much easier when families do it as a community. It only takes 2 minutes to add your name."

📋

Best places to recruit

  • School pickup and drop-off
  • Class email lists or parent group chats
  • PTA or School Site Council meetings
  • Back-to-School Night and curriculum nights
  • School fundraisers and community events
  • Neighborhood NextDoor or local Facebook groups
📱

Sample text to share

Copy and paste this into a parent group chat:

"Hey everyone! I just signed up for Berkeley Unplugged — a community of Berkeley parents working together to delay smartphones & social media for our kids. Sign up for our grade here: berkeleyunplugged.org It's free, takes 2 minutes, and the more of us who join, the easier it is for everyone."
📧

Sample email to parents

Use this as a starting point for your class email list:

Subject: A community for Berkeley parents navigating smartphones

Hi [Grade] families,

I wanted to share a resource I've come across: Berkeley Unplugged, a parent-led community here in Berkeley for families who want to delay smartphones and social media for their kids — and do it together so our kids aren't the only ones.

It's free, not a nonprofit, and there's no pressure. You can sign up for our specific grade at [your invite link] and see how many other families in our class have already joined.

Hope to see you there!
[Your name]
🙋

Handling tough questions

  • "Isn't this anti-tech?" — Not at all. We're pro-balance, not anti-technology.
  • "My kid already has a phone." — Welcome! The group is for everyone.
  • "Will my info be shared?" — Only your first name, if you choose to be visible.
  • "Is this affiliated with BUSD?" — No, we're an independent parent group.

📥 Downloadable materials

Print these and bring them to PTA meetings, pickup, or community events. Both are one page and print-ready.

Ready to become a liaison at your school?

Research & Reports
🏥

CHOP / UC Berkeley / Columbia Study — PEDIATRICS, Dec 2025

A landmark study of over 10,000 adolescents found that owning a smartphone at age 12 is linked to significantly higher risks of depression, obesity, and insufficient sleep. Earlier acquisition makes outcomes worse.

Read the study →
🏛️

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health — Feb 2026

A major public health briefing on social media use disorder and addiction, examining mental and behavioral health harms in children, teens, and adults. Confirms social media addiction is a measurable clinical phenomenon.

Read the briefing →
⚠️

U.S. Surgeon General — Warning Label Call, 2024

Surgeon General Vivek Murthy declared a youth mental health emergency and called on Congress to require warning labels on social media platforms — comparing the risk to tobacco. Teens who use social media more than 3 hours a day face double the risk of depression and anxiety.

Read the advisory →
📊

Pew Research Center — Teens, Social Media & Mental Health, 2025

Parents are more worried than teens about teen mental health — and both groups partly blame social media. A detailed survey of what teens and parents actually think about the role of platforms in their wellbeing.

Read the report →
🗽

New York State — Social Media Warning Label Law, 2025

New York became the first state to require social media platforms to display health warning labels to users under 18, targeting addictive features like infinite scroll, autoplay, and algorithmic feeds. Other states are following suit.

Read about the law →
📰

After Babel — Jonathan Haidt's Substack

Regular updates synthesizing the latest research linking smartphones and social media to adolescent mental health. A great way to stay current as new studies emerge.

afterbabel.com →
Books
📖

The Anxious Generation — Jonathan Haidt

The essential book for understanding what's happened to adolescent mental health since 2012 and the role of smartphones and social media in driving it.

Learn more →
📖

The Amazing Generation — Various

A counterpart to the anxious generation narrative — focusing on the resilience, creativity, and potential of today's young people when given the right conditions to thrive.

Find at BPL →
📖

Dopamine Nation — Dr. Anna Lembke

Stanford psychiatrist Dr. Anna Lembke explores how our pursuit of pleasure in an over-stimulated world is leading to pain — and what we can do about it. Essential reading for understanding smartphone addiction.

Find at BPL →
📖

The Coddling of the American Mind — Haidt & Lukianoff

How good intentions and bad ideas are setting up a generation for failure — and what campuses, families, and communities can do differently.

Find at BPL →
📖

Free-Range Kids — Lenore Skenazy

The case for giving children the freedom to grow — practical, funny, and deeply reassuring for any parent questioning whether they're being too protective.

Find at BPL →
❓ Common questions

Frequently Asked
Questions

Answers to the things Berkeley parents ask us most.

About Berkeley Unplugged
Berkeley Unplugged is a parent-led community — not a nonprofit, not affiliated with BUSD, and not a formal organization. We're Berkeley parents who found each other and decided that navigating technology decisions is easier together. We host events, share resources, and support each other.
Not at all. Our goal isn't to ban screens or tell anyone how to parent. We believe technology has a place in kids' lives — but that the timing matters. We support delaying smartphones and social media, not eliminating them forever. Many of our families use Apple Watches, flip phones, or other low-tech devices as bridges.
No. Berkeley Unplugged is an independent, parent-led group with no official affiliation with Berkeley Unified School District or any individual school. We advocate for phone-free policies within BUSD, but we are not part of the district.
About the Goals
We encourage families to wait until at least high school before giving their child a full smartphone. In the meantime, many families use alternatives like Apple Watch (cellular), flip phones, or Tin Can landlines that allow communication without the internet and social media.
Absolutely yes. Many of our members are navigating this after already giving their kids phones. The group is just as valuable for setting limits, reducing screen time, delaying social media, and finding community support regardless of where you are in your journey.
The research base has grown considerably in the last few years and extends well beyond any single book. A few highlights:

A major study published in PEDIATRICS (December 2025) by researchers at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, UC Berkeley, and Columbia University followed over 10,000 adolescents and found that owning a smartphone at age 12 is associated with significantly higher rates of depression, obesity, and poor sleep — and that the earlier a child gets a phone, the worse the outcomes.

The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health held a major public briefing in February 2026 examining social media use disorder as a measurable clinical phenomenon, with documented mental and behavioral health harms across age groups.

U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy declared a youth mental health emergency and called on Congress to require warning labels on social media platforms — comparing the risk to tobacco. His advisory noted that teens who use social media more than 3 hours a day face double the risk of depression and anxiety.

New York State passed a first-in-the-nation law in 2025 requiring social media platforms to display health warning labels to users under 18, targeting addictive features like infinite scroll, autoplay, and algorithmic feeds. Attorneys general from 42 states have echoed similar concerns.

Jonathan Haidt's book The Anxious Generation and his Substack After Babel remain excellent starting points for synthesizing this growing body of work. The Wait Until 8th and Let Grow organizations also have extensive resources. Visit our Resources page for the full list.
About Signing Up
When you register for your child's school and grade, you can see how many other families from that same class have already joined. You also get a personal invite link to share with other parents in your class. This is the core mechanic that makes collective action possible — when enough families in the same class join, it changes what's socially normal for those kids.
Yes! You can choose to be counted but stay anonymous — your name won't appear on the public roster. However, we strongly encourage staying visible, because seeing real names from your class is what encourages other parents to join. Every visible signup makes the next one more likely.
We use your name and email only to send you a confirmation, your invite link, and occasional Berkeley Unplugged updates. We never sell or share your data with anyone. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Yes — if you have children in multiple grades at the same school, you can now select multiple grades in one signup. If your children attend different schools, just complete the form once for each school. You'll get a unique invite link for each grade.
Getting Involved
There are lots of ways to get more involved — helping organize or host an event, advocating for phone-free policies at your child's school, spreading the word to parents in your class, or volunteering to be a school ambassador. Visit our Join Us page and let us know how you'd like to help!
We can help! We have talking points, research summaries, and community support for parents who want to bring the issue to their school's Site Council, PTA, or the BUSD Board of Education. Sign up and reach out to us — you won't have to do it alone.

Still have a question?

We'd love to hear from you. Reach out and a member of our team will get back to you.

Our East Bay Community

Yes! Berkeley Unplugged is part of a growing East Bay movement. Our sister communities include:

Alameda Unplugged — One of the original Bay Area groups, founded in Alameda with the same mission of delaying smartphones and social media. alamedaunplugged.org

Piedmont Unplugged — A thriving parent-led community in Piedmont focused on phone-free childhoods and real-world independence. piedmontunplugged.org

We're all inspired by the same research and the same belief: that kids thrive when they have real-world freedom and aren't glued to screens. Together, we're building a Bay Area-wide movement.
Absolutely — reach out to Alameda Unplugged and Piedmont Unplugged directly through their websites. We also hope to organize cross-community events in the future. If you're interested in helping coordinate across cities, email us through the contact form on our About page.
The movement is growing fast! If you know of a group in another East Bay city — or want to start one — we'd love to hear from you. Reach out through our About page and we'll help connect the dots.
👋 Who we are

About Us

A grassroots group of Berkeley parents who believe kids deserve a real childhood — and that it's easier to protect when we do it together.

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."

— Margaret Mead
Our Story

Berkeley Unplugged started in 2026 with a group of parents who found each other at a district-wide meeting with the BUSD Superintendent on implementing a bell-to-bell phone ban across Berkeley schools. Sitting in that room, we realized we weren't alone — and that the conversation didn't have to end when the meeting did.

As a parent collective, we believe that we can create meaningful change by banding together as a community against the onslaught of BigTech addictions against our impressionable children. Our focus is two-fold: first, engaging parents on the issue of limiting screens for the mental and social well-being of our children, and second, advocating for better policies around screen use during their time in school.

We're not a nonprofit, not a brand, and not affiliated with any school or district. We're just Berkeley parents who found each other and decided that doing this together is easier than doing it alone. Our group brings together families from across Berkeley — different neighborhoods, different schools, different parenting styles — united by the belief that children thrive when they have boredom, freedom, outdoor time, and genuine human connection.

Our goal isn't to tell anyone how to parent. It's to make sure every Berkeley family knows they're not alone in wanting balance, connection, and support in the digital age. We cannot do this alone. Please join this movement that is gaining momentum around the country!

Our Organizers

Berkeley Unplugged is organized by a small group of Berkeley parents. Want to add your name here? Get in touch!

Want to get involved?

Interested in helping run events, advocate at the school board, or become a school liaison? Send us a message using the form below and we'll get back to you.

Send us a message and we'll get back to you.

👋 Our community

See Who's Joined!

Families across Berkeley who have pledged to delay smartphones and social media.

Loading families…
⏳
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Don't see your family? Sign up and join the movement!

🤝 Get involved

Join Us

Sign up for your child's school and grade — see who's already joined, and invite other parents in their class.

1
School
2
Grade
3
Your Info
4
You're in!
Which school?

Select your child's BUSD school. If your children attend different schools, you can register again after.

Elementary Schools (K–5)
Middle Schools (6–8)
High School (9–12)
Which grade?

Select the grade(s) your children are in at . You can select multiple grades if you have more than one child there.

Almost there!

Signing up for

Used only to send your confirmation and invite link. Never shared publicly.
Helps other parents recognize each other on the roster.
Leave blank to use "[Last name]'s family" by default.
Who can see you joined? ⭐ We recommend visible

Seeing real names from your class is what encourages other parents to join. Every visible signup makes the next one more likely — your name creates the safety for others to step up too.

Show my name ✓Your family's last name appears on the grade roster and encourages other parents to join.
Stay anonymousYou're counted but your name won't appear on the public roster.
Please fill in all required fields.
🎉

You're in!

You're now listed as a supporter for .
Now invite the other parents in your class — the more families who join, the easier it is for everyone.

Your grade's roster

1 family

    📨 Share your invite link

    Anyone who clicks this goes straight to the signup page for your grade. Forward it in the class email thread, group chat, or text it to parents you know.