New Delhi, 16 November, 2021.

After a resounding success of its GadgetFreeHour Campaign for Change in 2020, ParentCircle on Monday said this year over 50 million participants are expected to disconnect from their electronic gadgets for one-hour on November 20 - World's Children Day - to spend the time exclusively with their children.

Started in 2011 as a parenting magazine, ParentCircle has emerged as a strong print and digital force in India. Apart from its magazines that have a pan-India readership, its digital platform www.parentcircle.com clocks a viewership rate of 12 million per year.

From the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, people of all ages have spent significantly more time living through their screens. More screen time is not a choice anymore, but a necessity for families.

The family-connect initiative was a huge success last year, with more than million parents and over 41,635 schools participating in the event. The campaign was started in 2019.  

"This time, too, the movement is gaining momentum with #GadgetFreeHour garnering over 10 million impressions on social media already. And this is just the beginning. This year, #GadgetFreeHour is happening on November 20, 2021, with the number of participants set to exceed 50 million," said ParentCircle while announcing the third edition of the #GadgetFreeHour.

ParentCirclehas invited everyone to celebratethe priceless parent-child bond by participating in the #GadgetFreeHour drive on November 20 (World Children’s Day), 2021, between 7.30 pm and 8.30 pm. 

“In this one hour, families will disconnect from their gadgets and spend time with their children – playing, talking, eating and laughing together; rediscovering the pleasure of each other’s company in a fun way,” said Nalina Ramalakshmi, Founder and Managing Director, ParentCircle.

The Tamil Nadu Government Education Department is extending its support for the#GadgetFreeHour initiative by sharing a message to all the schools urging teachers and parents, along with their children, to take a break from their hectic online schedules to spend that one hour with their families. 

The Puducherry Government has also joined hands in this initiative and is keen on spreading the go-gadget-free message across all schools in the Union Territory. 

"Private schools and educational institutions, corporates, NGOs, cinestars, sportspersons, and scores of parents have also pledged to go gadget-free for that one hour on November 20, 2021. 

"Everyone unanimously agrees that though we were all home together during the pandemic, we were in many ways disconnected from our family members – particularly our children – due to our extreme dependence on technology," said ParentCircle.

Talking about why #GadgetFreeHour, Ramalakshmi further said all parents are busy either working or taking care of the needs of families. 

"We at ParentCircle launched #GadgetFreeHour to encourage families to spendplayful, fun moments together and experience the joy of connection. We hope every family will join this campaign and spend one hour on November 20th with their children and loved ones without the distraction of gadgets. We hope this experience will enthuse them to make gadget-free family time a regular part of their daily lives," said Ramalakshmi.