Screen Free Week is here!
Yes, I realize the irony in announcing this on a blog but bear with me. In our jacked-in society it's getting infinitely more difficult every day to shut off the smart phone, TV, tablet, computer, etc and harken back to a simpler time.
You've heard those rumors about days when kids used to read for entertainment, write their own stories, create art or *gasp* go outside? Well they're true, and this week is your opportunity to try it on for size. Just unplug and be productive. (But finish reading the post first.)
During Screen Free Week Random House is encouraging everyone to UNPLUG & READ. Unplugging even for a short time can provide perspective on just how huge a role media plays in our lives.
Screen Free Week is the annual celebration from the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood (CCFC) that encourages turning off screens and turning on life. CCFC’s Screen Free Week is a creative response to growing public health concerns about the unprecedented time children spend with entertainment screen media—television, computers, video games, and smart phones. Studies show that Preschoolers spend as much as 4.1 to 4.6 hours per day using screen media. Including multi-tasking, children 8 to 18 spend 7.5 hours per day with screens. Unplugging for one week provides an opportunity to reset media habits, establishing a healthy, sustainable tradition of media consumption in households and schools.
Inspired by Dan Yaccarino’s Doug Unplugged (On sale February 12, 2013) about a robot who discovers that the real world trumps the virtual, we are launching Random House Unplugs: A Screen Free Week promotion. We are committed to supporting teachers, librarians, booksellers and parents in their efforts to encourage children to UNPLUG & READ during Screen Free Week from April 29 – May 5.
This is something I really need to consider doing for a few hours a day. I can't imagine how hard this might be for kids so used to having phones and tablets 24/7.
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