Global Day of Unplugging was March 7-8, 2025, and Verizon has been doing its part to address the growing challenge of managing screen time and its effects on overall well-being.

According to Verizon, the average Verizon home internet household connects 18 devices and the number is rising. On March 6, 2025, at the inaugural Digital Wellness Summit hosted by actress and TV host Drew Barrymore, the company introduced several initiatives to promote healthy digital habits for families.

Sowmyanarayan Sampath, CEO of Verizon Consumer, oversees the company’s vast network, which serves millions of consumers across America with wireless devices and home internet.

In a recent discussion with AFROTECH™ about digital wellness, Sampath highlighted the challenges of underserved communities, particularly regarding access to technology and knowledge, as well as the need to advocate for increased awareness and greater accessibility.

“Which is why Verizon is getting involved in this,” he said. “You may wonder why the country’s largest, one of the largest consumer brands, the largest phone companies in the world, is getting involved in this topic. Our job is to build and run the best networks every single day. That’s our job. And we’ll never stop doing that every single day. But we do think there is, given our space in the ecosystem and the trust that people have in us, we think there’s a role for us to stimulate a conversation around digital wellness. That’s why we are involved in this conversation.”

Courtesy of Verizon

Verizon’s efforts to tackle the “Digital Dilemma” include collaborating on a new Digital Citizenship Initiative that provides K-12 students with free tools, resources, and skills to help prepare them for today’s digital landscape, the company said in a news release.

In collaboration with Older Adults Technology Services (OATS) from AARP, Verizon is also working on a new digital wellness course for older adults that will provide guidance on safe and effective technology use, privacy protection, and staying connected.

While speaking with AFROTECH™, Dr. Keneisha Sinclair McBride, a child and adolescent psychologist at Boston Children’s Hospital, warned about the mental effects of companies failing to promote digital wellness — noting that the opposite is digital illness.

“So I think that the effects can be pretty concerning if you’re thinking about what too much media use is taking the place of, right? If it’s taking the place of reading, if it’s taking the place of social connections in person, this taking the place of connecting with your family of physical activity, the outcomes of that are not good,” she said. “So I think that you’re so right that underrepresented communities are often under-resourced with this information. [It’s about] getting this knowledge out there for everyone so that people realize that, yes, technology is awesome, but we need to balance it with using it in a mindful way.”

Thanks to a collaboration with My Digital TAT2, Verizon is offering free workshops to parents and caregivers in select retail stores, designed to provide tools to enhance children’s digital wellness and help them navigate emerging technology trends.

Addressing the growing popularity of artificial intelligence, Donna Epps, Verizon’s chief responsible business officer, noted how kids are increasingly using generative AI as friends or therapists, raising concerns about digital wellness.

“I think part of it is it boils really down to education, whether it’s for kids or our parents and caregivers,” Epps said. “First, we have to understand the limitations of it. What is it? What is it not? It is basically a compilation of all information that has been fed to an AI model. And so the output is only as good as the input. And so there has to be, we have to teach people to have an appreciation for the fact that just because AI spits it out doesn’t necessarily mean it’s accurate, right?”

The company also launched the Verizon Arcade Unplugged pop-up experience, which turns digital games into life-sized, hands-on challenges to promote family time without screens. The experience will embark on a nationwide tour this summer, starting in April, and visiting major states, including California and Texas.

Verizon’s tools for offering peace of mind in a digital world include the Verizon Family app, which features location-sharing, parental controls, safe walking with SOS, crash detection, and roadside assistance.