Newsletter #07 June 2026
Hello Friends!
Somehow it’s already June!
School’s out, sun’s out, and it can be a trickier season for navigating screen time at home.
In the spirit of our most recent event, a screening of the new documentary Your Attention Please, this newsletter will be packed with guidance, tips, and even tricks on modeling appropriate screen use at home.
Didn’t make it to the screening and panel discussion? We’re so happy to share that there will be a screening in Salem on June 15th put on by the wonderful folks at the Oregon Public Education Network and Silverton Unplugged. You can tune into the recording of our panel discussion from May’s screening here.
We’re taking a break from events for a little while (stay tuned for our upcoming events calendar, coming next month) but we still have so much to offer! Between book clubs and office hours we are sure we’ll be seeing plenty of you this summer.
Above: Our wonderful panelists at our screening of Your Attention Please. From left to right: Kathy Masarie, Senator Lisa Reynolds, Laura Marquez-Garrett, and Kristin Bride. Photo by Kait Backus.
There’s nothing quite like connecting with community at the booth! Photo by Kait Backus.
Our book club has two meetings left but it is never too late to join!
Join us on the following Fridays to discuss Dopamine Kids: A Science-Based Plan to Rewire Your Child’s Brain and Take Back Your Family in the Age of Screens and Ultraprocessed Foods by Michaleen Doucleff! Doucleff offers readers a five-step guide to raising confident, happy kids while breaking the cycle of overdependence on screens and other sources of unnaturally high dopamine.
Meetings will be held every other Friday at 10am PST (1pm EST).
RSVP below.
June 5th - Chapter 6 + How to Build Sanctuaries
June 19th- Epilogue and where we go from here.
Big Deal Nationally:
The past six months have been packed with groundbreaking legislative and legal action to protect our communities from digital harm. There are reminders left and right that we all have the power to create the collective future we want to live in. Creating change can start with understanding the changes that are happening and with that in mind we absolutely loved this video from Andy Liddell and the EdTech Law Center that breaks down exactly how Meta and YouTube were culpable and why it matters.
Whether you are a parent, educator, grandparent, school administrator, healthcare provider, nonprofit professional, business or community leader, you have a stake in our future, and the role social media and EdTech will play.
Beyond legislation, there has been some general big news afoot. This past week, the pope wrote on AI and its implications for the world we live in. In short;
Artificial intelligence risks widening inequality, weakening democracy and undermining what it means to be human.
The American Federation of Teachers Unions has also released a new recommendation that includes no screens for those in second grade or younger, and no AI chatbots for students in elementary school.
We also got a mention in a piece put out by NBC this week!
Big thanks to journalist Tyler Kingcade for thinking of us as he put together his piece The Book Fueling a Movement Against Screens in Schools.
Big Deal Locally:
From coalitions to the senate floor, things are starting to shift where it matters here in Oregon. Those shifts are made possible by you all, within your communities getting loud about what needs to happen and by our legislators who listen and do their best to represent their constituents. Join Sen. Lisa Reynolds, Rep. Levy, Rep. Dobson, and Rep. Wallace (AKA the Mom Mob) on Tuesday, June 16th to talk about what’s next with AI, social media, and edtech. Register here.
We also encourage you to sign our Letter of Legislative Support to speak up for the changes you want made!
Portland - There has been a ton of moving and shaking in the Portland scene these past few weeks. A new group is taking shape! Schools Beyond Screens Portland is a quickly growing group that includes parents, caregivers, teachers, and community members united by a shared vision and commitment to change. Sound like something you want to be involved in? You can join their WhatsApp group here, their Facebook group here, and the Four Norms group (under the Balance Project umbrella) here. You can also take their PPS Ed Tech and Screens in Schools survey. In addition, the organizers would love to encourage you all to show up and show up loud to the PPS school board meetings on 6/9, 6/11, and 6/15 and wear yellow!
West Linn - Jolene hosted a tech education night for parents, teachers, and community members at Stafford Primary School! The event was a resounding success and got a lot of amazing conversations going. She also is planning on kickstarting a chapter of Analog Alpha in the West Linn/Wilsonville School District. Are you in the WLWSD? Give Jolene a shout at jolene@analogalpha.org
Tigard/Tualatin - Screen time finally made its way onto the agenda at TTSD’s school board meetings, largely in part to Crystal Weston’s advocacy and attendance at Dr. Jared Cooney Horvath’s talk in April. TTSD has also announced a work group led by the assistant superintendent to review current policy and make suggestions to better line with brain research this fall. Want to connect with folks in TTSD? Connect with the TTSD Safe Tech Advocates here.
Lake Oswego - Tonight, from 6:30-8:00pm, Lake Oswego Parents for Responsible Technology present: Growing Up Digital, a community conversation and Q&A. Meet other curious families in the Lake Oswego area and learn together! We hope to see you there. RSVP here.
Bend/La Pine - As a result of Resolution 2013 on Educational Technology, middle schoolers in BLPS will no longer be taking iPads home for homework starting in the 2026-27 school year. This is a big win for parents, teachers, and kids! And that’s not all, there are more changes for ed tech use on the horizon at BLPS - stay tuned. This is a direct result of their grassroots efforts to activate parents to push back!
Silverton/Salem - Things are happening over in the Salem area! Silverton Unplugged and the Oregon Public Education Network are putting on a screening of Your Attention Please on June 15th with a panel discussion following. Reserve your seat here and if you want to get involved in the Silverton area give Jill a shout at doc.pwpconsulting@protonmail.com
What are you getting up to in your coalitions? What projects are on the docket? What changes are you making? Tell us here and we can feature you in our July newsletter.
Kathy’s Pick: Why You Should Be a Techno-Skeptic by Jonathan Haidt
Kathy says - This is Jonathan Haidt's most urgent and most resonant TED Talk yet! This TED Talk is my pick of the moment to share with anyone and everyone you know who cares about the kids in their lives. In his talk, Haidt advocates for a "techno-skeptic" perspective guided by three principles to reduce the harm from current and future tech on kids:
Protect brain development through puberty.
Prioritize people and books in education, not screens.
Beware of artificial relationships for minors (i.e. social media, interactive gaming...)
We hope you will share this resource with everyone you know who cares about the kids in their lives. The more of us involved in asking for proof of safety and efficacy of technology before we sign up, the more kids we can protect going forward.
Jody’s Pick: A Conversation with Nicki Petrossi of Scrolling 2 Death by Haley Zapal
Jody says - This interview describes practically what stealing kids' attention means for families & makes good recommendations for family media guidelines.
Megan’s Pick: Treasure Your Attention by Jonathan Haidt. Read it here or watch him address NYU’s graduating class here.
Megan says - I’m not generally a fan of commencement speeches, but this beautiful address last week by Jonathan Haidt for NYU was the exception! It captures exactly what I have been saying to my son, in small ways, for the last ten years. It is a message I want to share with my son, every one of my past students, and all my nieces and nephews. Please print it out and read it to the teen or young adult in your life!
Simcha’s Pick: Play!
Simcha says - This is another month where I don’t have an article I necessarily want you to read (although if you want to read something about the impact of AI on the brain I am always talking about this MIT study). This month I am encouraging you all (of all ages!) to go get silly and play. Especially for all the grown-ups out there, there are so few opportunities as adults to just play. I’m telling you to run around, get silly, and model to any kids in your life that there isn’t a “too old” when it comes to play. Play can be an amazing tool to regulate yourself, boost your mood, and reduce stress. Not sure where to start? I’d recommend trying out skipping, building whatever your heart desires out of any kind of Lego or block, and doing a little more rough housing with your friends. If you haven’t rolled down a hill recently I am saying that NOW is the time to do so.
This summer we are so excited to share some tips and tools around screentime that start at home.
From the Brick to Freedom to assistive access, we’ll have everything you need and more to reset your own habits and model healthier habits for the kids in your life.
Our first feature is on Minimalist Phone ($28 one time fee), an app that allows you to reduce your phone’s appeal and hone in on its functionality.
Even without social media, I realized I had a problem with checking my phone. Sitting down and checking the news, the stocks, or my email was becoming a “default behavior” for me when I had downtime. I looked into the Light Phone but the cost was high and it didn't have the specific things I really wanted on a phone. I thought about a flip phone but really wanted to "dumb-down" the phone I already had.
That’s when I found out about Minimalist Phone!
The iOS version is still really new and so there may be some hiccups there but I found the Android app to be exceedingly easy to install and navigate.
You get to choose exactly what goes on your home screen and I love that I can really hone in on the things that are important to me (messaging (but not emails), maps, calling, taking pictures, et cetera).
I like that its default interface is black and white but goes back into color for the other aspects of my life like taking pictures or needing directions (having maps in color makes them so much easier to navigate). If you do want it all in black and white though, that option is there for you.
You can also have favorite contacts selected to make calling and texting easier.
If there's anything else I need, I can just swipe to the left and access all my other apps as a searchable list. It's enough friction that I’m not fussing on my phone as a “default” but can still access the various things I might need.
It's already changed my behavior and I’m excited about it.
OR Unplugged is a non-profit organization run almost entirely by volunteers. Your donations and volunteer time both support creating & distributing resources, putting on events, doing outreach, facilitating workshops, and much much more. You can help us show up for our community and build a better future for our kids. Any support is welcome and appreciated. You can donate here and learn more about volunteering here.
Comments, queries, or concerns? You can reach us 24/7 (practically) at ORUnplugged@proton.me
Warmly and with gratitude,
the OR Unplugged team
Kathy, Jody, Megan, & Simcha
