Mission
Reduce Social Media Time. The effects of excessive social media use are well documented. According to the U.S. Surgeon General Advisory * :
Spending over 3 hours a day on social media leads to poor mental health, depression and anxiety—teenagers average 3.5 hrs. a day (4.8 hrs. per recent Gallup poll **)
On a typical weekday, nearly one-in-three adolescents report using screens until midnight or later, with excessive social media use affecting sleep quality and duration
Social media may perpetuate body dissatisfaction, disordered eating behaviors, social comparison, and low self-esteem, especially among adolescent girls
* source: hhs.gov/surgeongeneral/priorities/youth-mental-health/social-media/index.html
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** source: news.gallup.com/poll/512576/teens-spend-average-hours-social-media-per-day.aspx
Our Purpose
Unite Social Icons, our partners, and sponsors. Then join with children, youth, and families on a designated day once a month to take time off Social Media and instead Do Something REAL™—go Social Media Silent for a day to engage in: Recreation, Music, Sports, Hobbies, Reading, Art, Dance, Nature, Self-care, Volunteering, Exercise, Playing, Socializing… and feel a boost in happiness, wellbeing and mental health.
What We Do
REAL Day™ — Promote the monthly day of Social Media silence and offer alternative replacement activities, programs, and events for children and youth to join together through in-person sociality and human connection.
Social Icons — Enlist well-known influencers to: Promote REAL Day™ campaigns; Encourage their communities to participate in each monthly REAL Day™; and Invite their followers to join the REAL Day™ movement and volunteer if interested.
Partners — Engage businesses and organizations to periodically provide free, subsidized, or discounted activities on REAL Day™ as rewards earned by REAL Day™ members who have demonstrated reduced time on social media.
Media Campaigns — Promote taking time off social media and encourage its healthy use to counter the dangers and negative effects on mental-wellness such as: Cyberbullying, Sexting, Explicit deepfake images, Anxiety, Depression, Loneliness, Body image concerns, Oversharing of personal information, Exposure to dangerous people, Inadequate sleep, and Invasion of privacy.
Resources — Train volunteers and parents, develop and acquire tools for programs, and publish directories of qualified mental health and wellness service providers.
Healthy Social Media — Help youth, parents and families be intentional with social media, focus on real-life friends, limit social media time and scrolling, follow people and pages that bring joy, avoid social media at bedtime, stow the phone and live in the moment when out and about, and take frequent breaks.
Sponsorships — Attract like-minded sponsors to provide financial support for REAL Day™ campaigns, activities, and events; and increase public awareness.
Distribution of Funds — Allocate a portion of REAL Day™ donations to provide direct financial support to qualified 501(c)(3) charitable organizations and vetted mental-wellness service providers.
“The most important relationship we have in our whole life, is the one with ourselves.”
—Iskra Lawrence
Icon For Change
As REAL Day™ participation grows, and volunteers are recruited to offer local support, businesses and organizations have the opportunity to provide free or sponsored activities such as climbing gyms, cooking classes, bowling lanes, fun centers and art festivals. These perks will be earned and exclusive to registered members who have joined the REAL Day™ community and demonstrated reduced time on social media. Usage can be tracked using built-in features on our phones that can monitor and limit social media use and encourage healthy digital habits. Also, there are multiple apps that can help monitor and reduce the amount of time spent on social media, including: Moment, RescueTime, Offtime, Forest, Momento, Space and AppDetox.
So take time off social media, Do Something REAL™, and feel a boost in happiness, wellbeing, and mental health.
