Inaugural ‘Moodoff Day’ an International Success

Moodoff Day, an Australian non-profit, celebrated a small victory against the growing trend of smart phone addiction. For five hours on Sunday morning, people around the world stopped using their phones to text, call, email or browse the Internet.

While the actual number of people who participated in Moodoff Day on February 26th is not known, there were hundreds of supporters in 20 countries who had pledged their participation, including in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, South Africa, Singapore and the United States.

We are very happy with the response to the first, said founder Tapas Senapati, a self confessed smart phone addict. We had not anticipated reaching people in 20 countries. This just confirms that there is growing concern for smart phone addiction and its impact on our lives around the globe.

Senapati hopes the success of the first Moodoff Day will help spread awareness. We see this year's event merely as the launch and anticipate our following to grow over the coming months with a considerably bigger event to take place in 2013, said Senapati.

Australian author Amanda Cox was one of the first to pledge her support for Moodoff Day, saying, I realized I had a problem when I responded to a joke my husband told me with LOL instead of laughing.

According to recent research by Ofcom, 37% of adults and 60% of teens admit to being highly addicted to their smart phones, with
users checking their smart phones on average, 34 times a day. Graver statistics show that driving while using wireless technology, such as smart phones, is responsible for as many as 25% of accidents on our roads every year.

If we could save only one life as a result of this campaign, then it would have been worth it, said Senapati.

The response to Moodoff Day 2012 was overwhelmingly positive, with participants reporting that they enjoyed their time away from their beloved smart devices, along with others who vowed to not use their smart phone while driving anymore.

We all love our smart phones and we love our social media, but we also have to stay present in our lives outside of these super gadgets, Senapati added.

Moodoff Day is an ongoing initiative, aiming to get organizations, businesses, employers and schools to also embrace it and
promote a safer and more balanced use of smart phones in everyday, not just on the last Sunday in February.

To learn more about Mood Off Day log onto www.MoodOffDay.org or visit www.facebook.com/MoodoffDay.

Contact:
Tapas Senapati
Moodoff Day
10/47, Knox Rd
Doonside, NSW-2767
+61 402 754 764