Why Unplug?
The research is clear. Explore videos, studies and guides that explain the impact of early smartphone access on children’s development, mental health and sleep.
Smartphones
What childhood looked like before smartphones — and what we are trying to give back to our kids.
We Remade a 1990s Video Shop for the Smartphone Era
Watch & Learn
These short videos cut through the noise with clear, evidence-based explanations of what smartphones are doing to our children.
Screen Time & Brain Damage
How excessive screen time physically alters the developing brain — and what that means for learning, attention and emotional health.
Posting Kids Online
The privacy, consent and long-term identity risks of sharing children’s images on social media — and why the stakes are higher than you think.
Smartphones in Bedrooms
Why removing phones from bedrooms is the single highest-impact thing parents can do for their child’s sleep, mood and school performance.
The War for Attention
Billion-dollar companies are engineered to capture your child’s attention. Understanding their techniques is the first step to taking that attention back.
Key Studies & Articles
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Haidt (2024)
The Anxious Generation — Jonathan Haidt
Definitive account of how smartphones and social media rewired adolescent mental health from 2012 onwards. -
JAMA (2023)
Associations Between Screen Time and Lower Psychological Well-Being
Large-scale study linking daily screen time to increased depression and anxiety in children aged 2–17. -
Sleep Medicine (2022)
Smartphones and Adolescent Sleep — Meta-Analysis
Bedroom smartphone use associated with 45-minute average reduction in nightly sleep among teenagers. -
Nature (2023)
Social Media and Mental Health: A Collaborative Review
Comprehensive review of 226 studies — strong associations between social media use and anxiety, depression and body image issues in adolescents. -
WHO (2019)
WHO Guidelines on Physical Activity, Sedentary Behaviour and Sleep for Children Under 5
Global health guidelines recommending strict limits on sedentary screen time for young children.
The evidence moved you. Now take action.
Join other Port Stephens families in pledging to protect your children’s childhood from early smartphone exposure.
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