Starting Political Pressure campaigns

Perhaps I am being naive but has anyone seen/heard/been part of any lobbying/campaigns who apply political pressure for our unhealthy habits with tech and social media?

I am very interested in starting something in the UK.
There is so much evidence to support the detrimental impact it is having on our mental health.

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We used to have Political Pressure as one of our strategic pillars, but after our recent reorganization we focus mostly on ā€˜Creating awareness of solutionsā€™ and the solutions themselves. The Center for Humane Technology is doing the political lobbying. See for info on this relationship this post: 23rd of April: D-DAY šŸ’„ at The Center for Humane Technology! Watch the video.

Having said that we can still start Awareness Campaigns that mobilize the public on some political points. I have moved your post to the Awareness Program category.

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I think this is a really interesting idea. I think we can try to create an information campaign (which we started out doing on Instagram. But our followers ended up being a lot of brands and people already interested in digital wellness). We are in the process of creating some informational videos. What else do you think we should try? Maybe a group like MADD (which does great work)? People Against Addictive Technology? PAAT? :blush: Or we work on creating HTC real-world groups?

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You can think of it as we are trying to do something new.
Or you can think of it as something thatā€™s been done 100s of times before.

How did the ā€œanti-smokingā€ and other causes execute their movements?

With that perspective there are many books and ā€œprovenā€ methods for pushing for political causes.

So Zosla, what causes have you seen in London that were successful?

Yes I am keen to get a page started for my local community (Southampton, UK). Of course anyone would be welcome to join :slight_smile: I wanted to have a page and get a group meet up going for my area. I wouldnā€™t want to just stick to a facebook group as I feel it defeats the point a littleā€¦I want it to be a human experience.
I have been playing around with a few names/logos recently and I work with a few graphic designers :slight_smile:
It would be a great way to raise awareness and actually meet others who are also passionate. We could bounce ideas off of each other and I would definitely bring them along to the next meetup in London!

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Why not use MeWe? Its like facebook but ethical! You could also make a HTC chapter in your community! (There are a couple of those around)

An overview of our chapters and related meetup groups can be found in: Eventful Campaign: Foster a vibrant meetup culture, organize exciting events and on the Community Hub website, here:

@Zosia, have you read the transcript of Tristan Harrisā€™s testimony before the House of Commons? If you havenā€™t, that would be a great place to start in terms of finding resources for your campaign.

@Zosia, per @patmā€™s point, here in the US Roger McNamee worked with the US Senate in the Mark Zuckerberg hearings as well as wrote George Soros speech to the World Economic Forum. I think thatā€™s what the CHT is really focused on the higher end political pressure.

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See: Witness account of Tristan Harris on Fake News before UK House of Commons Committee

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Brilliant!! This is such a great idea!!

How do we go about making a group like PAAT? What would the steps to take be? I think that could gain serious tractionā€¦

Here are some instructions on starting a lobbying group. I think this would be a good step to take. Maybe not through the HTC but as a project. @healthyswimmer @Zosia what do you think?

@sidnya thatā€™s a great idea. lobbying is the way to go to get laws changed. The California Nurses Union changed the face of healthcare in California with better nurse patient ratios. Itā€™s a arduous process that takes time and perseverance, but Iā€™m convinced this is the only way to get something changed.

In college we were always encouraged to take our politicians to lunch and give them tours of hospitals so they would understand the importance of changing healthcare law.

Political action committees organized to lobby in Washington and taking politicians on school tours is a start.

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