Simplifying collective action to reclaim childhood
“If you delay giving your child a smartphone, it makes it easier for other parents to do so. If you give your child more independence, it makes it easier for other parents to do so too. If you do it together, with other families, it will make it easier still.”
Vision
Our vision is a society where families have the agency to shape the role of technology in childhood, establishing new cultural norms that maximize human connection and healthy development.
Mission
Four Norms transforms grassroots advocacy into measurable impact by equipping local coalitions and parent groups with streamlined organizing tools and powerful analytics. Our platform converts proven community strategies into simple, actionable playbooks—eliminating administrative burden so leaders can focus on what matters: building momentum in their neighborhoods. By making organizing effortless and impact measurable, we empower community champions while generating insights that strengthen the broader movement for healthy childhood.
About
When Jonathan Haidt introduced the idea of parents changing the cultural norms of Technology with our children by taking collective action, as parents we realized that we could not wait for Tech to reform itself or regulation to come in a timely fashion. Collective action gives parents a Technology off ramp they don’t have as an individual.
Taking action is hard. We are busy and exhausted parents already doing our best for our families. Speaking up can be lonely and feel counter cultural. That’s why it’s so important to speak together, as one. But who has time to go research and understand the exact actions to take?! We hear you, and we’re here to help.
There are already great organizations out there tackling each segment of this wicked problem. We launched Four Norms to streamline all of that, and connect parents directly with the organizations already solving for the new foundational norms. Now, it’s a guided path exercise to activate vetted, simple actions to raise your voice, for yourselves and your kids.
In a world increasingly shaped by digital influence, we believe it's time for parents to reclaim their power and reshape the way technology impacts childhood. Our mission is to empower parents with the tools and support they need to adopt the Four Foundational Norms, fostering a culture that prioritizes real-world experiences and healthy development for our children. By partnering with existing organizations and grassroots parent groups, we provide the infrastructure that allows them to focus on making a difference, not managing the tools.
FAQs
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By far the biggest strain on modern parenthood is Tech related. It’s not the only challenge, but it exacerbates most of the others. Further, Tech platforms are relentless in their pursuit of our attention. This creates a scenario where it’s very difficult for individual parents to thrive. It’s important in this moment to take action together, to reclaim our connection with our children in a digital world.
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Parents of all school-aged children who have concerns about how Technology and Social Media are impacting their family.
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That’s an understandable concern! We now you are busy. No need to worry. There is no additional action required on your part once you sign up. We securely send over your info to each of our vetted organizations to automatically sign their pledge or otherwise activate your membership. From there, the organizations with pledges (Wait Until 8th and Phone Free Schools Movement) will facilitate your community action. Other orgs will send you all of the info you need to continue your journey of a phone-free childhood.
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Of course. Visit our How It Works section to find links to learn more about each organization and solution.
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We will be adding ideas and actions soon. For now, we recommend checking out all of the great organztions listed over on The Anxious Generation website.