Teen tech addiction is a crisis
On average, U.S. teens are spending almost 9 hours a day* consuming online entertainment, leading to serious consequences for their mental health and academic performance. Research shows that excessive smartphone use is linked to declines in memory, attention span, critical thinking, and learning outcomes.
This isn’t a minor issue. It’s a fundamental challenge to student success and well-being.
Traditional tech policies are not enough to address it
Many schools have implemented policies to manage phone use, but these efforts often miss a critical element: the cultural norms that drive students' online behavior. For this to change, students need to be active participants in the conversation about healthy tech use.
Without student buy-in, even the best policies fall short. When students lead the charge, change becomes sustainable and deeply ingrained in the school community.
Project Reboot is the missing link
Project Reboot complements existing tech policies with a comprehensive approach that aligns students, teachers, and parents in the battle against addictive technology. Through engaging assemblies, parent workshops, in-class discussions, and ongoing student-led initiatives, we help create a campus culture where healthy tech use is the norm, not the exception.
With Project Reboot, you’re not just managing the symptoms of tech addiction—you’re addressing the root causes and empowering your students to become more intentional, both online and offline.
Ready to transform your school’s approach to technology?
*Data based on the Common Sense Census, taken during 2021, which found that 13-18 year olds in the United States are spending 8 hours and 39 minutes per day consuming various forms of online entertainment across all devices
Why Project Reboot?
Developed at UC Berkeley
Project Reboot began as a semester-length course that helped over 100 UC Berkeley students reduce their screen time by an average of 3.5 hours per day.
Trusted by global leaders in education
Project Reboot has already reached over 30,000 students at many of the top schools around the world
The Project Reboot Keynote
An engaging assembly designed to:
Inform students about the true cost of screen time
Inspire students to use technology intentionally
Empower students to build and maintain healthy tech habits
Delivered by someone who grew up with social media
Dino Ambrosi is a former tech addict on a mission to help students build healthy digital habits. Over the last three years, he has created a popular UC Berkeley course that has helped over 100 students reduce their screen time, spoken about digital wellness to over 30,000 students and parents around the world, and released a TEDx talk that has been viewed over 2 million times. In the process, he has learned to overcome students' initial resistance to the topic of screen time by leveraging his personal story, integrating humor, and providing practical, sensible strategies to maintain healthy device usage.
“By far the best speaker I've seen in my 30 years working in education”
-Maria Lubamersky, Principal at Ross School District
Learning outcomes include:
The amount of non-productive screen time the average U.S. teen is on pace for in a lifetime (26 years!)
Why using devices as an escape from stress, boredom, and anxiousness is a slippery slope
How social media companies have partnered with the gambling industry to maximize profit
The impact that excessive tech use has on attention, mood, resilience, and self-perception
Why the answer to unhealthy tech use is intention, not abstinence
What can be done to transform peer pressure to be on social media into support to use it intentionally
How to build a healthy content diet to reap the benefits of the internet without losing control of time and attention
Tangible, practical guidance to set and adhere to informed intentions for tech use
“This was the single best assembly I’ve ever attended. It hit a subject that I think about every single day, and hearing this was exactly what I needed to get that boost to get off my phone and start building the life I want.”
-Josie, student at Head-Royce School
Follow-up Program
Actionable steps to help students reset tech habits, regain focus, & reclaim time
For students serious about changing their relationship with technology, Project Reboot provides a rigorously-tested series of exercises and reflections that they can complete from home. Each of the 29 activities consists of a brief video (available on Project Reboot's online platform and mobile app) and an accompanying worksheet in the Project Reboot Guidebook. Over the course of the program, students will:
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Reshape their relationship with boredom, stress, and anxiousness
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Redesign their physical and digital environments to support intentional tech use
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Audit their content diet to upgrade the quality of the information they are consuming
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Build morning and evening routines that minimize their time on social media before and after sleeping
The Screen Time Initiative
Additional resources that translate inspiration from the keynote into sustained changes to cultural norms on campus
Classroom Activities
Exercises and discussion guides from the popular UC Berkeley course
Build on the momentum from the keynote by engaging your student body in collaborative discussions. Each classroom activity is 30-45 minutes long, and teachers can easily facilitate them with our detailed discussion guides and accompanying slideshows.
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Post-Assembly Discussion
Students share their current tech habits, determine their ideal amount of screen time, and discuss ways to transform peer pressure to spend time on social media into peer support and accountability to use it intentionally
Content Diet Exercise
Students discuss the pros and cons of consuming different types of content and create a set of “content diet guidelines” similar to the MyPlate infographics published by the USDA
Club Resources & Student Leadership Support
A lasting change to campus culture has to come from within the student body. That’s why we provide passionate students with resources to start a Project Reboot club. Club leaders are equipped to lead discussions, organize events, and mentor younger peers, ensuring that conversations about healthy tech use continue long after our visit to your campus.
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Club Starter Kits: Everything students need to launch a Project Reboot club, including meeting guides, activity ideas, and promotional materials
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Leadership Training: Workshops and resources to help student leaders develop the skills needed to inspire their peers
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Ongoing Support: Continuous access to resources, mentorship, and a community of other student leaders around the world
What Students are Saying
"I've noticed a significant increase in my awareness of how I'm using technology which has made me much more mindful in my day to day life."
Megan Baxter
UC Berkeley Student
Time Saved: 2 hours per day
Testimonials
Afroditi Skevi
Head of Educational Technology, Institut Le Rosey
"Our students left the auditorium raving about Dino's session and reflecting on their current use of social media. They valued his honesty and practical guidance, and a significant number have expressed a commitment to strive for a more balanced interaction with their devices."
Atalanta Petalas
Parent of a student at the International School of Geneva
"Your presentation clearly touched the teenagers deeply. My son told me that he had only had 20 minutes of screen time yesterday versus the usual hour and a half. I asked him how he felt about that, and he said, 'I feel so much lighter!' and, 'I realize how much of social media is actually so unnecessary.' Many of my friends shared similar stories of their children’s behavior and relationship to their screens changing practically overnight."
Ricky Lapidus
Head of Upper School, Head-Royce School
"Dino is funny, organized, and, above all, thoughtful about what social media gives and what it takes away. Kids were engaged and actually, meaningfully, made changes as a result of Dino's presentation."
Yuka Hachiuma
Counselor, Lick-Wilmerding High School
"We have been amazed by the excitement and overwhelmingly positive response we have received from students, parenting adults, and faculty/staff for bringing Project Reboot to LWHS. Dino Ambrosi is a dynamic speaker whose message resonates with our students because they relate to his story of his own past struggles with phone addiction and are inspired (and a bit horrified) by the data he presents to make changes in their lives that promote more intentional tech use. The parenting adults really appreciated the tips he had for them in engaging in conversations around tech use with their teens, so much so that many of them decided to participate in the digital detox challenge as a family."
Will Miller
Dean of Students, Moorsetown Friends School
"Dino's presentation was not only informative but also inspirational. His ability to engage our students and staff in a meaningful dialogue about the role of technology in our lives was commendable. The insights, practical advice, and powerful visuals from his talk have left a lasting impact on our school community, encouraging us to rethink our digital habits and strive for a more balanced and fulfilling use of technology.
We are immensely grateful for Dino's visit, and we wholeheartedly recommend his presentations to any educational institution seeking to empower young people with the knowledge and awareness they need to navigate the digital age responsibly."
Ready to transform your school’s approach to technology?