Research & Documents for Disconnected

The governor's offical website for the New York State Distraction-Free Schools Law.

2021 U.S. Surgeon General report on the effects of social media on children's mental health. 

MAMA is a grassroots movement of parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and other allies standing up against media addiction. We’re taking action because we believe that real-life experiences and interactions belong at the heart of a healthy childhood.

If you’re concerned about children’s exposure to online harms, early childhood screentime, or the proliferation of screen use in schools, check out Fairplay's action kits to get the facts, discover practical solutions, and create an action plan.

After more than a decade of stability or improvement, the mental health of adolescents plunged in the early 2010s. Rates of depression, anxiety, self-harm, and suicide rose sharply, more than doubling on many measures. The mass migration of childhood into the virtual world has disrupted social and neurological development.

As new cellphone policies take effect for the 2025–2026 school year, Common Sense is here to support your school community through the transition.

The research is clear: Smartphones undermine attention, learning, relationships, and belonging.

Keep Phones and Watches "Away For The Day" At School. Research shows that kids and teens do better with phones, smartwatches and other personal devices away during school hours.

The best practice definition of a phone-free school is a “first bell to last bell” policy that requires all personal electronic devices are securely locked away and inaccessible for the entire school day.

In schools, cellphones are almost as ubiquitous as backpacks, and that’s a problem. The constant use of personal electronics — not just phones, but earbuds, watches, and other distractions—are impacting our students’ ability to focus and learn.

Our students are in a state of emergency. They are facing unprecedented levels of depression, anxiety and skyrocketing suicide rates, and we cannot afford half-measures that create an illusion of action but fail to fix the problem.

Cellphone restrictions in schools require balancing mental health and academic concerns with practical implementation questions from parents and community members. Rather than speculate, we can look to evidence from schools nationwide that have successfully implemented bell-to-bell policies. This document addresses some common misconceptions about the bell-to-bell policy proposal.

Comparison cards showing how digital distractions impact cyberbullying, the mental health crisis, the distraction cycle, learning time lost, and the critical value of social time.