Diane Primo, founder and chairman of marketing company IntraLink Global and mother of three (a daughter and two sons), challenges us all to help our children thrive by encouraging them to Tech It Off–turn off all devices–for one hour, on October 10th, 2014, from 8-9pm.

Primo is greatly concerned that our children, our beloved Millennials, who
are consuming media for 18 hours a day, are stuck in a high-stress, constantly plugged-in, sleep and time-deprived culture. She worries that their addiction to their devices will limit their effectiveness, productivity, and growth, and may well ultimately block their ability to truly thrive.

Inspired by Arianna Huffington’s new book “Thrive”, which explains how we need to expand the definition of success beyond monetary or material measures to include empathy, compassion and caring, Primo wants us all to consider how we can help our technology-obsessed children understand the importance of having uninterrupted think-time, getting enough sleep, and caring about others. When will they have time to focus on these important values if they are plugged in and preoccupied for all of their waking hours?

Primo’s suggestion: Tech It Off. Devote one hour on a specific day, worldwide, to going tech-free. She wants us all to Tech It Off on October 10, 2014, from 8-9pm in every time zone. She acknowledges that asking our children to de-tech for just one hour is a baby step, but notes “Baby steps start the conversation”. If we start with this one hour, and help our children understand that stepping away from their devices for periods of time will help reduce their stress and restore balance to their lives, she believes, “this simple act can start to change their lives, and ours, for the better”.

Read Diane Primo’s challenge to Tech It Off in full here. We at GCP are big fans of this idea. What do you think? Can you, will you, encourage your sons and daughters to Tech it Off on October 10th, 2014??

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