Screen-Free Advocates Invite Families to Give Screens a Pause, Just for a Few Days

A modest movement that originated as TV Turnoff Week in 1994 now highlights a growing crisis.

Students pick up their phones from pockets after class at Petersburg High School in Petersburg, W.Va., on Aug 27, 2025. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

Beyond smartphones, television, and digital workstations, there is a beautiful world awaiting rediscovery, screen-free advocates say. Everyone is welcome there, to spend time in tech-free spaces—to see, hear, smell, and touch tangible things in real time.

At this year’s national Screen-Free Week initiative, May 4–10, organizers are hoping families—children and adults—will accept their invitation to find time to “dream, connect, and play” without screens.