MARSHFIELD, WI (WSAU) — Today’s the start of ‘Screen Free Week’ across the country, and Jodi Chojnacki from the ‘Marshfield Area Coalition for Youth’ says it’s purpose is to encourage people to reconnect with family and friends by turning off electronic devices and participating in other activities for their social, physical, and psychological well-being.
“It’s just to raise awareness to encourage families to get outside and have some fun together, and hopefully create some healthy habits,” Chojnacki said.
Each day of the program there’s a special activity sponsored by a local organization or business; and there’s incentives for participants with pledge cards. Chojnacki explained that, “The nice thing is that this pledge card gets you into all of these activities but also we offer free raffles, certain businesses are providing nice incentives.”
The event also aims to educate about the dangers of too much screen time. “There is a resource page at our website, and that gives you lots of facts about some of the research out there, concerns we have, or tips that people can engage in.”
Research shows that the average person spends 90-percent of their time indoors, and on-average, adults spend about 10-hours in front of screens every day.
The Marshfield event is hosted locally by ‘Marshfield Clinic Health System Center for Community Health Advancement’ and the ‘Marshfield Area Coalition for Youth-Mental Health Workgroup;’ and it runs from April 29th through May 5th.
To learn more, visit https://ccha.marshfieldclinic.org/screen-free-week/events/7days/ where you can download all the information you need to get started. You can print pledge cards online, or you can pick them up at the Everett-Roehl Public Library.
