Social media detox started by 24-year-old grows into global movement

Maddie Freeman, 24, created No Social Media November after personal losses and watching the documentary 'The Social Dilemma'; she says tens of thousands have participated and she now runs the youth-led nonprofit full time.

Maddie Freeman grew up spending large amounts of time on social media and got her first smartphone at age 12. In high school she reported daily screen time around ten hours. During her high school and early college years she experienced the loss of several friends, with ten peers dying by suicide, five of them in 2020. After watching the documentary-drama The Social Dilemma in 2020, she created a month-long social media detox called No Social Media November. Key details: - Freeman says she came up with No Social Media November (NoSo) days after watching The Social Dilemma and that it is a month-long detox. - She reports that tens of thousands of young people around the world have participated. - Freeman now runs NoSo as a youth-led nonprofit on a full-time basis. - A 2025 Pew Research Center report found 45% of teens ages 13 to 17 say social media harms their sleep, 40% say it harms productivity, and 19% say it harms their mental health. - Freeman was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in 2025. Summary: Freeman turned personal loss and concerns about social media into an organized month-long detox that she says has reached tens of thousands of participants. She now leads NoSo full time as a youth-led nonprofit and received recognition on Forbes 30 Under 30. Undetermined at this time.