The Movement

SFC is a parent-led volunteer initiative that kicked off in Cape Town in July 2024. Inspired by Smartphone-Free Childhood in the UK, we’re on a mission to connect and empower parents to press pause on smartphones and social media for kids. Through open conversations and collective action, parents can work together to create slow-tech and low-tech childhoods, which research shows are essential for healthy development.

Parents hold the key to shifting societal norms within their communities—indeed, it’s the only way it will happen. Read the evidence and take action for your kids.

Our mission

To connect and empower parents to press pause on smartphones and social media for kids.

Our vision

To create a world where parents do not have to hold back the tide of technology in childhood alone; where children can grow and thrive in a tech-conscious environment that prioritises their well-being and healthy development.

Our purpose

To unite parents in creating a slow-tech and low-tech childhood, where smartphones and social media are thoughtfully delayed, and parents are equipped to start conversations and take action in their communities.

Our core beliefs

1. Digital norms for kids are skewed against healthy childhood development.

2. Every parent wants what’s best for their children, however they handle this particular challenge.

3. Collective action can create lasting change: By uniting, educating and galvanising parents and schools, we can collectively shift current digital norms in childhood.

4. Childhood is a crucial stage of development: We believe that childhood is a vital period for building the foundations of well-being, learning, and social skills, and it should be protected from the undue influence of smartphones and social media.

5. Children thrive best in the real world: We believe that children’s mental, emotional, social, and physical development is best nurtured through real-world connections, and more free play, independence and responsibility in the real world.

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