The Portland-based nonprofit OR Unplugged was created to thread together several smaller, local groups of parents across Oregon that are like-minded about creating phone-free environments for their children.

Groups all around the state, including in Central Oregon, Hood River, Ashland and Salem, have partnered with OR Unplugged. OPB’s “Think Out Loud” recently spoke with the organization’s founder, Kathy Masarie, and Daniel Golder, a parent who runs a Sherwood-based chapter of the organization.

Golder founded the group “Analog Alpha” to help children in Generation Alpha “be adept at technology without being dominated by it.” Generation Alpha is generally understood to include people born between 2010 and 2025.

“Being analog doesn’t mean being anti-technology.” said Golder. “It means removing technology’s place as tyrannical over us and putting it back in the place of a tool.”

Golder says that building communities that prioritize “unplugged” time is key to weaning kids off their devices.

“It’s about building community and about establishing relationships,” said Golder, “so that young people don’t feel like it’s a social cost to make the healthy choice when it comes to screens.”

“It is very hard to be the only kid doing something different,” said Masarie. “But if you’re all doing it, it’s a fierce movement.”

Masarie worked as a pediatrician for two decades before founding OR Unplugged. Its website includes curricula for digital wellness, suggestions for alternative devices to smartphones, and community events with “unplugged” activities. Since the group’s founding, it’s advocated for legislation that limits phone use in schools, including the executive order issued by Gov. Tina Kotek last year that banned cell-phone use in schools.

“People still believe this myth that [access to technology] reduces inequity and it actually increases it. What we want is to pass laws that affect all kids, not just our kids,” Masarie said.

“I have a lot of hope for the future,” said Golder. “Alphas are wicked smart, they’re going to make some good choices.”

Kathy Masarie and Daniel Golder spoke to “Think Out Loud” host Dave Miller. Click play to listen to the full conversation:

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2026/05/11/screen-free-childhood-parent-group-oregon-unplugged/