Our Ethos
A Manifesto for Intentional Living in the Digital Age
The Problem We See
We live in an era of unprecedented connectivity, yet we have never felt more disconnected. The devices in our pockets, designed by teams of brilliant engineers optimizing for engagement, have reshaped the fabric of daily life. We scroll instead of sleep. We compare instead of connect. We consume instead of create.
This is not an accident. The attention economy is built on a simple premise: your time is the product. Every notification, every infinite scroll, every autoplay video is a carefully designed mechanism to keep you engaged—not for your benefit, but for shareholder value.
“The cost of something is the amount of life you exchange for it.”
What We Believe
We believe that technology should be a tool, not a master. We believe that the default settings of our digital lives are not serving us, and that it takes conscious effort and collective will to change them. We believe that boredom is not a problem to be solved, but a space where creativity, reflection, and genuine connection are born.
We believe that this is not about going backward. It is about going forward with intention. It is about choosing which technologies enhance our lives and having the courage to set aside those that diminish them.
Individual Action, Collective Impact
Change begins with a single decision. Deleting an app. Taking a walk without your phone. Calling a friend instead of texting. These small acts may seem insignificant in isolation, but they are the seeds of a cultural shift.
When one person makes a pledge, they reclaim their own attention. When a thousand people make that same pledge, they begin to change the norms around them. When a generation commits to intentional technology use, they reshape the market itself.
Why College Students
We are the first generation to have grown up entirely within the smartphone era. We are also the generation most affected by its consequences—rising rates of anxiety, depression, loneliness, and a pervasive sense that real life is happening somewhere else, on someone else's feed.
But we are also the generation best positioned to lead this change. We understand the technology intimately. We feel its effects deeply. And we have the energy, the networks, and the idealism to build something different.
“We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children.”
The World We're Building
We envision a world where checking your phone is a choice, not a compulsion. Where dinner tables are for conversation, not scrolling. Where the measure of a good day is not screen time statistics, but the depth of experience and connection.
This world is not utopian. It is practical. It starts with small, tangible commitments and grows through community. It is built one pledge, one conversation, one hike at a time.
Project Reboot is not the answer. It is the beginning of a question that our generation must answer together: What kind of relationship do we want with the most powerful technology ever created?
Ready to reclaim your attention?
Take the Pledge