Get Outside, Kid. No One's Watching.

So there I was, in an online MIT Executive Ed course on Design Thinking—surrounded by sharp minds, big ideas, and scattered across multiple time zones. We broke into groups, and my group had the audacity to tackle what felt like a modern-day Mission: Impossible.

Pitchy Gen-Z voice: "What if we invented an app that actually discouraged kids from sitting inside alone on their phones and encouraged them to get outside and play?"

Pause for laughter. Because if you’ve ever seen a preteen with a device in their hand, you know prying it away is like trying to take a steak tip from a rottweiler. But here’s the twist: once I got past my Gen-X cynicism and actually talked to kids, I found something kind of beautiful.

They wanted help.

I personally sat down with eight kids—real kids, not hypothetical personas—and explained our project. We were trying to get them moving. Off screens. Into the wild. What ideas did they have?

A couple of them were duds (one suggested a robotic dog that would drag them outside), but a few? Legit brilliance. Imagine Fitbit meets geocaching, but built like a multiplayer quest where each level had to be unlocked by physical movement. And what was really cool? You could tell the ideas weren’t about trying to escape their phones—they were trying to escape what their phones were doing to them.

One kid—probably 11, eyes serious behind smudged glasses—shrugged and said,

“We don’t really like being on them all day. We just don’t know what else to do. We need help.”

That one stuck with me.

We aced the project, got our fancy certificate, and went our separate ways. But I never forgot what those kids said. And honestly, I never saw a single headline after that moment that made me think anyone had picked up where we left off…

Until today.

I opened an email from The Atlantic, and there it was. A whole article on how a Non-profit called Let Grow and adopting communities are starting to liberate kids from their screens—not with fear, not with lectures, but with something radical: freedom to play. (Because, here’s another thing, the pros say our kids are glued to their phones because it’s one of the very few places they feel free from hovering parents.)

And then, right there, like a cherry on top of the optimism sundae, was a shoutout to the #NicePeopleofNewburyport (my home port).

Turns out, Newburyport’s Youth Services Department’s Summer “Let Grow” program is giving kids permission and a path to walk to parks, ride bikes with friends, and experience life offline—without needing an escort, a tracking device, an Uber, or a full background check of their friends' parents.

And here’s the kicker: It’s working!

See, for all our tech obsession and AI panic and endless doom scrolling, what kids really crave isn’t another dopamine hit. It’s agency. It’s knowing someone trusts them to make a turn down the street on their own. It’s a grown-up saying, “Go out and get dirty. Just be back by dinner.”

So, if you’re reading this as a parent, educator, fellow entrepreneur, or someone who’s ever muttered, “Kids these days…”—maybe it’s time to flip the lens. It’s not the kids. It’s the world we’ve wrapped around them like digital bubble wrap.

And maybe—just maybe—it’s time we pop a few of those bubbles.
 
To learn more about Let Grow, visit: www.letgrow.org
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LERN Module for Parents, Educators, and Tech Developers: “Play is Not Optional—It’s Oxygen”

OBJECTIVE:
Learn why kids need autonomy, movement, and offline connection—and how to create environments that support it.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• Kids aren’t addicted to screens—they’re trapped by the absence of better options. Give them purpose, play, and freedom, and the screen loses power.
• Designing for movement matters. Whether it’s school policy, town planning, or app development—prioritize physical interaction, not passive consumption.
• Trust breeds growth. When kids are given permission to walk, play, and explore, they gain confidence. Which, funny enough, tends to make them safer, not more at risk.
• Tech can help—but only if it knows its place. The best tech nudges kids outward, not inward. Think challenge-based, community-driven, physically-activated platforms.

Mini Assignment: Talk to a kid. Ask what they wish they were doing instead of being on their phone. Then write it down. There’s your next startup, school policy, or neighborhood project.

Boston American Final Word: It’s not just about saving kids from their screens. It’s about reminding them (and ourselves) that the real world is still the best app ever created. And it doesn’t need an update. Just a BS meter.