Ami Formica, a Bend mother of three, has a decorative box where she stores her phone when she’s at home. Her elementary school-aged children have even gotten into the habit of telling her to stash her phone when she seems distracted by it.

Since she’s working to model healthy technology habits for her kids, Formica, who is the co-founder of the healthy tech advocacy group Well Wired, knows she’s heading in the right direction.

She’s one of two parents, along with Brooke Mues, advocating for a healthier use of technology through Well Wired, a local parent community and school advocacy group.

They are working with Bend-La Pine Schools to establish common sense policies around technology use in the classroom, such as putting away classroom iPads when they are not being used. They are also advocating to restrict social media use for adolescents until age 16.

“We both confessed to each other that we were really concerned about what the future for them would look like in middle school,” said Formica of her partnership with Mues, who has two elementary-aged children of her own. “In middle schools, we see a lot of smartphone use, we see a lot of social media use, we know it’s the norm. We knew those weren’t choices that our families wanted to make.”

Social media use in the U.S. is high among children, and Formica is right to be concerned. It’s so high, that the U.S. Surgeon General last year advised the public on the benefits and harms of frequent use among adolescents. He also advised parents and teens to moderate their technology use, create boundaries and reach out for help when necessary.

Researching healthy tech use

Mues and Formica began their work last fall, knowing that other parents were likely also worried. They had listening sessions with parents, and asked what their concerns were and how they used technology in their homes. It became clear that elementary school parents were concerned about social media and that they wanted support from others.

In a survey they distributed, Formica and Mues asked what help they could provide the community around healthy technology use. One item of importance to parents was school advocacy.

Parents are concerned about kids finding inappropriate content on school-issued iPads, as well as the negative effects of gamified apps used during class. iPads were first rolled out in Bend-La Pine Schools in a pilot program in fall 2013.

“In schools, it would be helpful if the district set policies that were supporting intentional tech use and boundaries that are really healthy,” said Formica.

Mues and Formica are still figuring out what the new policies might look like. They plan to work with school district leadership in May on healthy tech use in schools. One option is putting the iPads in a docking station when they’re not being used.

In addition to speaking with child psychologists, therapists, school counselors and others, Mues and Formica have been hosting Healthy Tech Talks with parents and kids to discuss healthy technology choices.

“We talk to the kids about technology and big tech, and essentially that it’s the business model of the devices and the apps to keep you on them as long as possible, so your attention is monetized,” said Formica. “We use a metaphor about having a bag of candy in your pocket.”

Mues said parents were shocked by the U.S. Surgeon General’s warning about social media and that most people aren’t aware of it.

“Eventually, we know that this is going to become mainstream. The question is when, and we have to get ahead of it; we can’t wait, especially for Congress to do anything because it’s going to take too long,” said Mues.

”Biggest parenting challenge of our generation”

Mues and Formica spoke to experts as they continued to do their own research, and found data that alarmed them. According to Mental Health America, the mental health of Oregon youth ranked 50 out of 50 in 2023, down from 45 the previous year. One in five teens experience symptoms of depression and anxiety, according to their research. There is also data indicating that reading on screens is not as comprehensive as reading a paper book.

Well Wired has a survey out to parents of Bend-La Pine elementary and middle schoolers to learn people’s thoughts around their children’s use of iPads in the classroom and around policies limiting technology use in school.

“This is probably the biggest parenting challenge of our generation,” said Formica. “It’s something that’s worth our time and effort to figure out some potentially imperfect but at least forward moving solution to help preserve our kids’ growth and development.”

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“This is probably the biggest parenting challenge of our generation.”

— Ami Formica, co-founder of Well Wired, a group that advocates for healthy use of technology.