Dana Siomkos, who started Team Unscreen to encourage parents to delay giving their children phones and to encourage children and teens to get off their phones and get outside, was named South Orange Villager of the Month this week at the South Orange Village Council meeting.
The Villager of the Month proclamation, signed by Mayor Sheena Collum and read by Council Member Summer Jones, noted that Siomkos, a Maplewood resident for 12 years and parent of two daughters who have attended South Orange-Maplewood schools, “has used her professional experience and perspective as a parent to help families navigate the challenges of smartphones, social media, and childhood.”
Dana Siomkos, center, with the South Orange Village Council (from left Bill Haskins, Patricia Canning, Mayor Sheena Collum, Summer Jones, Hannah Zollman, Olivia Lewis-Chang and Jennifer Greenberg. (Photo courtesy of Sheena Collum)
In 2024, she and some other Tuscan parents who shared her concerns about the increasing pressure for children to have smartphones, came together and formed Team Unscreen, which has grown from a grassroots parent effort into a community-wide initiative providing education, practical resources and opportunities for families to make informed choices about technology use.
The proclamation states that Siomkos’ work “encourages families to learn and act together while recognizing that every household is different, with the shared goal of giving children more opportunities for independence, friendships, hobbies, creativity and meaningful real-world experiences.”
“It started as a personal problem, or challenge, or opportunity, with my own family, and trying to figure out how to navigate the pressures of earlier and earlier technology adoption,” she said. “So a few parents at the time at Tuscan gabbled around a kitchen table, where all good ideas begin, and the conversation grew, and I realized that I wasn’t alone, and so we started small.”
“Now we have captains and representatives at every single elementary school in the district, even at the middle schools, which a few years ago, telling middle schoolers to wait and delay smartphone use would have been an atrocity, and now we have over 25% of the district at the elementary school level, who has signed the ‘wait until eighth’ pledge, which promises to wait until the end of eighth grade to even consider getting a smartphone, which means middle school is still a time to be a kid and be playful, and to have fun, and to have face-to-ace conversations, and to not hide in your bedroom.”
Villager of the Month Dana Siomkos, top center holding proclamation with members of Team Unscreen and the South Orange Mayor and Village Council.(Photo courtesy of Sheena Collum)
Siomkos brought up eight other parents to the podium, other leaders in the organization to share in the honor because she said credits their help and their passion for growing the organization and making a difference for young people.
Mayor Collum told the group that their contributions are significant and she hopes they will come up with an adult version of Team Unscreen.
“But truly, I mean, this is really enormous, and I can’t thank you enough,” she said. “By showing that other parents and community leaders are taking the first step, and I hope others all commit to taking the pledge also, is that we’re choosing to do it as neighbors, as community members, and not because we’re trying to impose what we think is best for your children, but I think you’re right, being outside, being able to play and be kids, is really something we want to see a lot more in South Orange and Maplewood.”
