Hold the Phone!
Published in the American Family Association's magazine The Stand, this feature by Matthew White profiles Wait Until 8th founder Brooke Shannon alongside a second source, Dr. Kathy Koch of Celebrate Kids. Shannon recounts the same founding moment she describes elsewhere — watching middle-schoolers file out of school absorbed in their phones — and explains how the pledge's group structure eases the social pressure any one family would face acting alone. The piece cites research linking children's smartphone and social-media use to disrupted sleep, broader mental-health concerns, and cyberbullying risk, and Koch separately argues that heavy device use in childhood can get in the way of children developing empathy and eye-contact skills. TechKids Foundation cites this piece as an example of Shannon's advocacy being paired with a faith-based parenting organization's independent commentary on children's development.
Matthew White, "Hold the Phone!," The Stand, American Family Association, October 30, 2023. https://www.afa.net/the-stand/family/2023/10/hold-the-phone/