In this episode of The Screenagers Podcast Dr. Delaney Ruston is joined by her film and Screenagers partner, Lisa Tabb, to discuss their 'Away for the Day' campaign, which aims to remove smartphones and smartwatches from students during school hours to improve their academic and social well-being. 

They explore the campaign's benefits, the rapid rise of this challenge in elementary schools, and myths surrounding phone policies. Social psychologist Jonathan Haidt, author of the current NY Times bestselling book The Anxious Generation, also joins Delaney to discuss the negative impact of digital distractions on education.

The episode highlights the global movement towards phone-free schools and urges listeners to support the initiative by visiting awayfortheday.org. The episode also includes an exciting announcement about the upcoming new Screenagers film, which will be released in September called Screenagers: Elementary School Age Edition.

Show Notes

Featured Expert

Jonathan Haidt

Research References

Away For The Day

Additional links

Movies: Screenagers Movies

Time code

00:00 Introduction and Exciting Announcement

01:01 Special Episode: Away for the Day Campaign

02:20 Benefits of Phones Away for the Day

03:52 Global Adoption of Away for the Day Policies

11:38 Challenges and Pushbacks

17:51 Student Perspectives and School Experiences

20:43 Interview with Jonathan Haidt

29:29 Conclusion and Call to Action