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Parents spark a growing movement, urging families to delay kids’ online access.
Fitz Ochs swivels back and forth in a desk chair in front of a computer. “Hey, do you want to come over and go skating after this?” the 10-year-old asks. Lars Ellingson and Decklan Melander smile and nod.
It’s a simple exchange, but to Fitz’s mother, Alissa Ochs, it’s music to her ears—her fourth grader is making plans to go outside and play with friends. It’s also the reason the Ochs family signed the Buzz Off Social pledge, committing to delay social media use until at least age 16.
Concerned about the effects of social media on children’s mental health and development, a group of Edina parents launched an initiative to encourage families to hold off on allowing their kids access to social media. Buzz Off Social is an online pledge families can make to commit to keeping kids under the age of 16 off social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube. Since launching in November, more than 315 local families have already taken the pledge. “It’s another form of safety,” Lindsay Melander, Decklan’s mother, says. “Our job as parents is to put those boundaries in place.”
Last year, Lindsay teamed up with Alissa, Taylor Ellingson and Tim O’Neill to launch the initiative. They had read The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt and were concerned about how social media could affect their children’s development. In the book, Haidt writes that social media is “replacing play-based childhood with a phone-based childhood, leading to sleep deprivation, social isolation and addiction.”
The group realized that many parents had the same worries for their children being exposed to social media at too young an age. The solution: strength in numbers. The more families they could get to commit to keeping their kids off social media, the better. “We’re hoping it’s positive peer pressure,” O’Neill says.
The idea behind Buzz Off Social is to get the conversation started. “This is just a steppingstone for your family,” Lindsay says. The pledge suggests talking with children about the reasons for delaying social media use by “emphasizing mental health, brain development, healthy digital habits and etiquette.”
Decklan gets it, at least as much as a 10-year-old can. “Social media, it can cause emotions and fights,” he says. But even understanding the reasons doesn’t always diminish the allure completely. “I just don’t know why I can’t watch YouTube,” Fitz says, triggering nods from Lars and Decklan.
“Sometimes, it’s tough love,” O’Neill says. “You don’t give Lamborghini keys to a new driver.”
So far, the Buzz Off Social initiative has been launched within the Edina Public Schools and shared through PTOs. As a result, families from across the district have made the pledge. “Overall, it was very welcomed,” Lindsay says. The group isn’t content to just stay within the confines of Edina, and are trying to spread the movement across the Metro and the state.
In the meantime, they’ll continue to talk to their kids, evaluate their needs and work to prepare them for the inevitable moment that they can use social media. “At some point, they’re going to have to deal with it,” Taylor says. “We just want them to be ready.”
