New Sesame Street-themed PSA encourages kids to reduce mobile phone usage
Yes, we’ve all been there. Playing a game, texting a friend, or waiting for that one email.
‘Mobile phone usage among tweens and teens has skyrocketed over the past few years because of some of the events that I just outlined.
The problem has gotten the attention of the people behind Sesame Street.
A new PSA from Sesame Workshop and advocacy organization Common Sense aims to address kids’ unhealthy use of mobile devices by focusing on one particular problem: devices at the dinner table.
This is not the first time the #DeviceFreeDinner campaign has run — previous years’ spots featured Will Ferrell as a “distracted dad” on his phone at the table, ignoring his family’s conversations.
But this time around, the organization is teaming up with Sesame Workshop, which is lending its characters to a new PSA. The spot will feature the “Sesame Street” muppets modeling healthy mobile phone behavior by putting their devices away.
Phones are shut up in drawers, tablets placed on shelves, other devices are put in handbags — and, you know, thrown into garbage cans and stashed in pumpkins, as the case may be.
The muppets then gather around a table and happily chatter until they notice Cookie Monster is still on his phone, texting. (Don’t worry, their disapproval sees him eating the device in the end.)
So if you need help in convincing your child or children to put Dow that cell phone at the dinner table, this may help.
