Sign right here: The parents pledging to keep kids phone-free

By committing not to give their children smartphones until an agreed-upon age, parents are hoping for strength in numbers when schoolyard pressure starts to build. — Stefhany Y. Lozano/The New York Times

Kiley DeMarco recently attended Safety Night at her children’s public elementary school on Long Island in New York. As she walked around different booths learning about a local violence-prevention programme, about how police officers would respond to an emergency on campus, one station caught her eye: A parent was asking other parents to take a pledge not to give their children smartphones until the end of eighth grade.

DeMarco has two children, one in kindergarten and one in first grade. But like many parents, she has already read books and research arguing that smartphones, and the social media apps on them, drastically increase anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts in teenagers.