Gadget Free Hour

Gadget Free Hour is a Campaign organized by ParentCircle to encourage parents to spend one special hour connecting and engaging with their children, free from work and gadgets on Children’s Day 2019.
The campaign kickstarted with the Disconnect2Reconnect Campaign from 17th October until 3rd November requesting parents to connect with their children by disconnecting from their gadgets, followed by Gadget Free Hour from 4th November 2019. The Gadget Free Hour campaign was executed on 14th November 2019 from 7:30 PM to 8:30 PM where families experienced and engaged in fun activities with their children that did not involve the usage of gadgets.
== Significance ==
The goal of the Gadget Free Hour Campaign is to bring back the happiness of connecting with our families without the distraction of gadgets. It aimed to be a regular activity among families to help parents and kids to experience the MAGIC and JOY of parent-child connection without any disturbances.
== Impact ==
Gadget Free Hour Campaign is widely regarded as the first of it campaign that touched 10 million lives in India. Individuals, institutions, schools, organizations, hotels, corporates, the southern wing of CBSE and Tamil Nadu Directorate of School Education joined the campaign. Parents and children not only pledged to spend gadget-free time with each other but they were also inundated with heartwarming anecdotes of how this 1 hour was a life-altering experience for many families and how they would want to make it a regular practice.
Gadget Free Hour has been able to set a precedent about the importance and joy of connecting with loved ones.
#D2R → #GFH
Understanding that lives today are highly dependent on gadgets, the organizers thought that just allocating an hour for no-gadget usage and distancing ourselves from the virtual would help in celebrating the real connections. Thus, as a precursor to the #GadgetFreeHour Campaign as well as to increase awareness on the importance of familial connections ParentCircle kick-started with the #Disconnect2Reconnect Campaign from 17th October until 3rd November requesting parents to connect with their children by disconnecting from their gadgets. #GadgetFreeHour soon followed suit from 4th November 2019 and the idea struck a chord with millions, finally culminating on 14th November 2019 from 7:30 PM to 8:30 PM where families experienced pure moments of connection by engaging in fun activities that did not involve the usage of gadgets.
thumb|Gadget Free Hour pledge at KC Toshniwal Vivekananda Vidyalaya School, Chennai
== Organizations and Celebrities that support Gadget Free Hour ==
Gadget Free Hour was supported by celebrities and experts as there is a growing recognition of a need for such a ‘movement’. Some of the experts and celebrities to endorse the #GadgetFreeHour include, Dr. Tchiki Davis, Dr. Laura Markham, Dr. Nithya Poornima, Blake Snow, Tanya Goodin and others.
thumb|Gadget Free Hour pledge at CSI Gell Memorial School, Ooty
Actors Sameera Reddy and Bhumika Chawla, Chess legend Vishwanathan Anand, Cricketers Mithali Raj and Ravichandran Ashwin, Chef Sanjeev Kapoor, Top Radio Jockey ‘RJ’ Balaji, Singers Unnikrishnan and Mahati, Dancer VP Dhananjayan and Stand-up comedian Amit Tandon.
thumb|Gadget Free Hour pledge at Visakan School
== Sponsors ==
Gadget Free Hour’s primary major sponsors were the RAMCO Group and Murugappa Group with supporting sponsors Apollo Shine Foundation,VGP Marine Kingdom and Little Elly.
== Partners ==
Gadget Free Hour campaign was joined by several partners in this initiative and message is spread to all their stakeholders. In 2019 event; 96,872 schools, 13 organizations, 12 corporates, 28 hotels/ restaurants and 2 Activity Partners had participated.
thumb|Gadget Free Hour pledge at Chethana Matric Higher Secondary School, Madurai
==Gadget Free Hour in Media==
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==Others==
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== References ==
Category:Parenting
Category:Behaviour
Category:Childhood
Category:Organized events
Category:Recurring events established in 2019
Category:November observances