Pillar 01
Educate
Raising awareness about digital wellness through workshops, school talks, and open conversations about screen time impacts.
get to know us
Our story
How a local observation turned into a student-led digital wellness movement.
Founded on February 12, 2025, by Ahmed Farooqui and Atharva Naveen in Dallas, Texas, Descreened is a student-led initiative focused on reducing excessive screen use and raising awareness about its mental health effects. The co-founders planned their first public outreach in the spring of 2025, months before the first public post.
After noticing how often children and teens in our community turned to phones during free time, waiting rooms, and everyday moments, we wanted to create simple ways to encourage screen-free habits, mental wellness, and real-life connection.
What started as a local effort has grown into a community-driven movement involving educational content, screen-free resources, and outreach initiatives. Through awareness campaigns, screen-free kits, and student-led chapters, Descreened works to make healthier screen habits more accessible and engaging for young people everywhere.
We're not against tech. We're about learning when to step away from it — and making sure there is something better to step toward: a game of pickleball, a conversation, a book, a kit of art supplies.
founded by Ahmed Farooqui and Atharva Naveen · February 12, 2025
Timeline
Selected milestones from our founding on February 12, 2025 onward, including team activities, holiday and mental-health themes, and public posts. Events without an exact date are listed by month.
2025 · 37 events
February 12, 2025
Descreened is founded
Ahmed Farooqui and Atharva Naveen founded Descreened in the Dallas area to help young people cut back on excessive screen time and rebuild offline habits.
February 2025
Game night
Chess and strategy games gave the first gatherings a focus on thinking and talking together.
February 2025
Valentine's Day
A reminder to make room for face-to-face time with friends and family.
February 2025
Digital balance discussion
At school meetings, students talked about screen habits, mental health, and ways to spend more time connecting face to face.
March 2025
Sports day
Volleyball changed the pace from table games to movement and teamwork.
March 2025
Mental health check-in
The group made space to talk about rest, connection, and how time offline can help.
March 30, 2025
Pond cleanup
Volunteers spent time outdoors collecting litter around a local pond and sharing the work face to face.
April 2025
Earth Day
The seasonal focus turned to getting outside and noticing what a break from screens makes possible.
April 2025
First kit donation: 50 kits
The team donated its first 50 screen-free STEM activity kits.
April 2025
Game night
Board games kept the focus on friendly competition and conversation.
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May 2025
Public outreach takes shape
Ahmed Farooqui, Atharva Naveen, and the team began planning public outreach around May 2025, months before anything was posted publicly.
May 2025
Mental Health Awareness Month
A chance to share simple habits for rest, conversation, creative time, and asking for support.
May 2025
Student leadership gathering
Students met in person to share ideas and hear peer presentations before summer.
May 20, 2025
Screen-free summer picnic
A picnic brought students together for chess, outdoor games, creative activities, and time with friends away from their phones.
June 2025
Sports day
Basketball gave the group an active way to spend time together offline.
July 2025
80 more kits donated
During the second weekend of July, the team donated another 80 screen-free STEM activity kits.
July 2025
Independence Day
The holiday offered another reason to choose in-person time and outdoor activities.
August 2025
Game night
Trivia gave players a new focus: shared questions, quick answers, and conversation between rounds.
August 2025
Back-to-school reset
A fresh school term brought attention to making time for friends and rest away from phones.
September 2025
Sports day
Volleyball brought the group back to the court for movement and teamwork.
September 2025
Discussion circle
Students gathered to talk face to face about digital balance and staying connected offline.
October 2025
World Mental Health Day
The day was a prompt to talk openly about wellbeing and the value of offline connection.
October 2025
Halloween game night
Team games and playful challenges gave the group a seasonal way to gather without screens.
October 2025
Autumn student meetup
Students gathered after school to talk, reconnect, and spend time together offline.
October 2025
Digital habits reflection
Students reflected together on their phone habits and the changes they wanted to make.
October 2025
Discipline and self-growth
A group discussion explored discipline as a way to support future goals rather than punish current habits.
November 2025
Hermit crab observation
Students observed hermit crabs up close and traded observations in person.
November 2025
Instagram account opens
Descreened set up @descreened to share its screen-free mission before the first public post.
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Nov 2025
First public post
Our first public post went up on 15 November, inviting young people to cut back on excessive screen time and rebuild offline habits.
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Nov 2025
First awareness reel
A short video put time and attention at the centre of the conversation, followed by a Thanksgiving invitation to give the people around the table our attention.
November 2025
Handmade fish art
Students made paper fish and shared their creations at an offline craft session.
November 2025
Handwritten gratitude notes
Before Thanksgiving, students wrote physical cards to people they appreciate and spent the meeting connecting without screens.
December 2025
Winter student gathering
Students met in person for a winter gathering and made time for conversation away from screens.
December 2025
Digital manners discussion
A group conversation covered acknowledging people in person, thoughtful posting, and how phones affect daily life and mental health.
December 2025
Christmas Mafia game night announced
The group invited students to finish the semester with a screen-free round of Christmas Mafia.
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Dec 2025
What to do instead
Our first practical post offered three alternatives to another phone check — read, walk, or journal — alongside a Christmas reminder to be present.
2025
Community cleanup
Descreened held a community cleanup, bringing volunteers together for local service and time outdoors.
Spring 2026 · 20 events
January 2026
Winter student meetup
Students came together for another in-person meeting and a fresh start to the year.
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Jan 2026
A month of daily explainers
Through January we posted almost every day on sleep, notifications, motivation, anxiety, loneliness, online identity and how algorithms keep a feed going.
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Jan 2026
In-school awareness stand
On 20 January we set up a stand outside the counselors' office at lunch to talk with classmates face to face about their screen habits. A twelve-photo recap followed.
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Jan 2026
Students on camera
Interview reels asked classmates about their screen time, their phones and, a month later, their bedtime routines.
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Jan 2026
300+ response screen-time survey
Shared the results of more than 300 survey responses on phone use, notifications and sleep.
February 2026
Hands-on food-web activity
A group used yarn to build a food web together, turning a science topic into a shared offline activity.
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Feb 2026
Valentine's conversation meetup
Students connected through a mock speed-dating activity and in-person conversations, with photos shared in February.
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Feb 2026
7-Day Bedtime Challenge launches
Challenged students to put their phones away for the 30 minutes before sleep, every night for a week, with a printable tracker and a quick screen-time self-check.
February 2026
Procrastination workshop
A February meeting focused on practical ways to overcome procrastination and start important tasks.
March 2026
Stress and screen distractions
Students used a group game to explore how screen distractions can raise stress and disrupt focus.
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Mar 2026
Bedtime challenge results
239 survey responses before the challenge and 258 after it. 217 respondents said they planned to keep putting their phone away early.
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Mar 2026
The Descreened Method
Ten reminders on notifications, boundaries, sleep, mood and offline time that anchor our practical resources.
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Mar 2026
Our first website goes live
Launched our first website, with a screen-time log, free resources and goal-setting tools.
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Mar 2026
50 things to do instead
A 50-idea activity menu and a Descreened Bingo board of 24 activity prompts, followed by hobby guides for reading, journaling, drawing and puzzles.
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Mar 2026
Podcast launches
Started a student-run podcast, opening with a conversation about changing technology and its impacts.
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Mar 2026
Descreened Pickleball Tournament
Our first offline sports tournament, on 14 March at Sachse City Park: an afternoon of paddles instead of phones.
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Mar 2026
Community frame galleries
Three photo galleries of classmates posing with the Descreened frame.
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Mar 2026
A six-part issues series
Cyberbullying, social comparison, constant notifications, attention span, loneliness and low motivation, one post at a time.
April 2026
Digital red flags skits
Students acted out common digital red flags and practiced recognizing healthier responses together.
Spring 2026
Park cleanup
Volunteers gathered at Bob Woodruff Park for a cleanup, spending time outdoors while caring for a shared community space.
Summer 2026 · 17 events
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Jun 2026
Men's Mental Health Awareness Month
Marked the month with a post on wellbeing, followed by a look at 'brainrot' and what scrolling does to focus.
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Jul 2026
Open call for submissions
Asked volunteers to contribute infographics and screen-free booklets. A showcase of the submitted work followed on 28 July.
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Jul 2026
Screen-free booklets project begins
Began designing small screen-free booklets — fun facts, puzzles, reflection prompts and quick reads — to place in public waiting rooms.
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Jul 2026
Second pickleball event
Descreened held its second pickleball event at the Sachse courts in July after weather changed the original plans.
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Jul 2026
Canada chapter launches
Expanded internationally with our first Canadian chapter, in Toronto.
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Jul 2026
Chapter founders wanted
Opened applications for students to start Descreened chapters at their schools, at home and abroad.
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Jul 2026
Descreened Qatar says hello
Our Doha chapter introduced itself with a retro 'Press Start' carousel.
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Jul 2026
Screen-free kits for Health Services of North Texas
Donated 40 screen-free kits — coloring books, toys and hands-on activities — for children visiting HSNT's Wylie clinic. HSNT thanked the Wylie ISD students behind them.
See the post
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Aug 2026
A new website
Launched a new descreened.net that brings chapters, free resources and applications into one place.
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Aug 2026
Six chapters introduce themselves
Türkiye, Brazil, Vienna, Bombay, Toronto and Qatar each shared a chapter introduction, and chapters began posting their own resources in English, Turkish, Portuguese and Arabic.
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Aug 2026
Toronto's 7-Day Screen Time Challenge
Descreened Toronto ran its own week-long challenge: a screen check, phone-free meals, outside time, something creative, connecting IRL, no scrolling before bed, then reflect and celebrate.
See the post
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Aug 2026
Leadership recruitment drive
Looked for three motivated students from Wylie, Texas, to join the leadership team and help run events and fundraising.
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Aug 2026
Featured in Collin County Wire
“Wylie-Based Teen Nonprofit Descreened Fights Screen Time With Kits, STEM Donations” — our first feature in the local North Texas press.
See the post
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Aug 2026
Global expansion announced
Introduced our chapter network: autonomous, student-run chapters around the world.
See the post
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Aug 2026
Descreened Qatar's first event
A ladies' sports day at Multaqa, Education City on 25 August: football, handball, badminton, basketball and volleyball, and two to three hours off phones.
See the post
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Aug 2026
Richland chapter launches
Richland High School in Prosper, Texas, introduced its Descreened chapter; its seven officers followed on 1 September.
See the post
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Aug 2026
Edison chapter launches
Launched our New Jersey chapter in Edison to lead screen-free initiatives on the East Coast. Its board introduced itself on 27 August.
Fall 2026 · 14 events
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Sep 2026
Thank you, Home Depot
The Home Depot made a donation toward our upcoming community event and our screen-free work with children and families.
See the post
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Sep 2026
Featured in The Optimist News
“How a Student-Led Movement is Helping Teens Reclaim 2 Hours of Screen Time a Day.”
Read the article
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Sep 2026
Certified volunteer hours
Began offering certified volunteer hours to students who design booklets, edit video, create content or help run events.
See the post
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Sep 2026
Wylie East chapter launches
Became an official club at Wylie East High School, whose nine officers introduced themselves on 4 September.
See the post
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Sep 2026
New officer teams announced
Richland and Wylie East introduced their student officers, and Mills High opened its club with a meeting every other Thursday.
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Sep 2026
Sports Day in Murphy
On 13 September, with Descreened Wylie East, we hosted a sports day at North Hill Park in Murphy, Texas: basketball, volleyball and pickleball, and an Echo Dot for the MVP.
See the post
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Sep 2026
STEM boxes with Vanguard Robotics
Partnered with the FTC Vanguard Robotics team to donate STEM boxes in the coming months. We have raised about $3,000 toward a goal of 400 kits.
See the post
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Sep 2026
Türkiye's first volunteer gathering
Descreened Türkiye gathered volunteers in person on 18 September for conversation and community planning.
See the post
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Sep 2026
Emerson chapter launches
Emerson High School in Frisco, Texas, became our newest local chapter.
See the post
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Sep 2026
September 2026
Mills High chapter introduced
The student-led Mills High chapter invited classmates to spend less time scrolling and more time reading, creating, and connecting offline.
September 17, 2026
Mills High's first club meeting
Students met after school to introduce the club, share ideas, and plan future screen-free activities.
September 18, 2026
Bombay chapter campfire night
The Bombay chapter brought students together around a campfire for a phone-free evening outdoors.
September 29, 2026
Richland chapter at the club fair
Richland students visited the chapter's booth at the school club fair and learned how to join upcoming activities.
October 2026 · 4 events
October 1, 2026
Mills High book gallery
At its second meeting, the chapter shared favorite reads and made plans for more time together away from screens.
October 14, 2026
Mills High screen-free challenges
Students gathered after school for an October challenge session focused on choosing more offline time.
By October 2026
Impact snapshot: 700K+ reach and 320 kits
Descreened reported 700K+ views and exposures across its channels, 4,000+ students surveyed, and 7,000+ students reached through school outreach. The team donated 50 STEM activity kits in April 2025 and 80 in July 2025; chapters donated another 150 STEM kits through events and library outreach. Those 280 kits plus 40 clinic kits for Health Services of North Texas total 320.
October 28, 2026
Mills High challenge meetup scheduled
The chapter's next after-school screen-free challenge is scheduled for Room 223.
What we do
Pillar 02
Create
Building free physical "screen-free kits" with activities that encourage creativity, mindfulness, and offline hobbies.
Pillar 03
Connect
Fostering genuine in-person relationships through community meetups, outdoor activities, and device-free events.
Pillar 04
Act
Empowering students globally to launch their own Descreened chapters and drive change within their local communities.
we'd love to have you!