Families join 'Wait Until 8th' movement to delay smartphone use – 6abc Philadelphia

WYNNEWOOD, Pa. (WPVI) — A movement to eliminate cell phone use for children is growing among school communities throughout the Delaware Valley.

“Wait Until 8th” is a campaign that encourages families not to give their children smartphones until they complete the 8th grade.

Lower Merion School District dad, John Bellis, originally read about it in the book titled “The Anxious Generation,” which details the effects of smartphones and social media on kids.

“The evidence is overwhelming,” he said. “There’s depression, or suicide, or anything under the sun has all been going down ever since the smartphone came out.”

From there, he did more research on “Wait Until 8th,” a nationwide movement of more than 115,000 parents.

“Anybody with their eyes open can see it’s a problem. These kids, they walk around in groups, staring at their phone. They don’t communicate unless it’s on a phone. They don’t do anything unless it’s on a phone,” he said.

Bellis started spreading the message among his community in the Lower Merion School District, where now, more than 300 families have taken the pledge.

“My goal is by this time next year, we have half the school signed up,” he said.

The idea is that once 10 families in the same district take the pledge, it becomes active, and that way, your child isn’t the only one without a phone.

“You’re not leaving them out comparatively,” said Aly Cunningham, a Radnor Township mom who is spreading awareness in her school community.

“I grew up without them, and I know how to look somebody in the eye and shake their hands and have a conversation with an adult,” she said.

Part of the issue this community has with smartphones is the front-facing camera and easy access to social media. Child psychologists argue these features are linked to an increase in anxiety in young people because they’ve fundamentally changed how kids see themselves.

For families like Bellis, the hope is that kids will be happier and healthier without smartphones.

“Really, the only way to keep it under control is to say, ‘No phone until high school. No smartphone,'” he said.