Menlo students are no strangers to hearing about the perils of social media and smartphone use. So when they heard we were bringing in a guest speaker and dedicating an entire Assembly to this topic in both the Middle and Upper Schools, the news was likely met with some skepticism; maybe even some eye rolls. 

But Dino Ambrosi’s Project Reboot presentation is different. First, he is young and relatable, having graduated from UC Berkeley in 2022. Second, he struggled with his own screen addiction, spending upwards of five hours a day during his freshman year of college scrolling through Instagram and watching YouTube videos. And third, he didn’t suggest cell phone bans in school or abstinence from social media altogether. He is genuinely invested in helping students optimize and regain control of their relationships with technology.

Ambrosi illustrated the impact of too much screen time with a striking visual: an adult’s life expectancy in months. For an average 18-year-old, after factoring in school, extracurriculars, work, sleep, driving, cooking, eating, chores, and personal hygiene, only about 334 months remain to pursue passions, spend time with loved ones, and explore the world. There was an audible gasp in the room when Ambrosi revealed that American teens today spend up to 312 of those remaining months on screens—not studying, texting, or navigating maps, but succumbing to social media and entertainment algorithms strategically designed to keep them captive.

“The talk made me think hard about how most of us are living our lives inside the 3×6 glass rectangle and missing out on real connections and experiences,” said Eshwar ’27. “As someone who’s been passionate about using technology and screens to create not just consume, I loved the message from Dino’s talk to reboot and reset our relationship with our devices beyond “doom scrolling.”’

Ambrosi described how easily social media habits can spiral out of control in the transition from a highly structured and supervised high school schedule to a more flexible and self-managed college lifestyle. He had no idea how to manage his time without constraints or navigate the endless distractions. As he admittedly had “a bit too much fun” during his first month and his grades began to slip, Ambrosi became increasingly dependent on digital distractions to escape the stress. Ironically, this time that he could have spent studying, going for a walk, hanging out with friends, and making lifelong memories, he was instead training his brain to pull out his phone and dull the discomfort, a phenomenon he calls “the digital pacifier.” He came close to failing out of school and was anxious, exhausted, and full of shame, a shell of his former self.

If there’s anything positive that came out of this digital “rock bottom,” it was Ambrosi’s decision to leverage his experience as a platform, dedicating his career to helping students reset their tech habits, reclaim their time, and regain their focus. He created a course at UC Berkeley to help students reduce their screen use by an average of 3.5 hours a day. Since graduating in 2022, he’s spoken to over 25,000 students and parents around the world. He’s released a TED talk with over 2 million views, and he’s created an online community with members on six continents. 

“Our phones can be either weight vests holding us down, or jetpacks lifting us up,” he said, highlighting the need for intentional and empowered tech use.

Ambrosi encourages students to build healthier habits by rethinking their “content diets”—consuming longer, more informative content and minimizing short-form entertainment. He also advocates for simple strategies like moving phone chargers away from the bed, removing phones from the room when studying, reserving devices used for school for educational purposes only, and using apps like Clearspace that introduce delays before accessing distracting apps.

“My biggest takeaway was to implement some of the strategies that Dino provided including downloading Clearspace and avoiding charging your phone in your room,” said Asher ’26. “I thought it was also really powerful how he talked about his own phone addiction in college and how if you struggle with your relationship with technology you’re not alone.” 

In terms of creating a lasting shift toward mindful screen use at Menlo, Ambrosi called on students to lead the charge in transforming their school’s tech culture. Students are already in the early stages of launching a Project Reboot Club at Menlo to support students struggling with tech use and destigmatize conversations about unhealthy screen habits. The group hopes to advocate for campus policies and social norms that will make it easier for all students to control their tech use. Club leaders will have access to over 20 activities from Ambrosi’s UC Berkeley course, as well as Project Reboot’s app and online community platform. The goal is to make it engaging, empowering, and sustainable to make sure these conversations will continue far beyond Project Reboot’s first visit. 

Asher is hoping to play a leadership role in the club’s launch. “My goals for the Project Reboot Club are focused around providing a safe place for students to talk about their individual use of technology, spreading awareness around the campus about this important issue, and providing resources for self-improvement,” he shared. 

At the end of his presentation, Ambrosi pointed to the lifespan visualization diagram again, this time with more hope in his voice. “Nobody is destined for this. If you’re struggling with screens right now, there are things you can do today to better your relationship with them. And if this isn’t a problem, you can take some steps to make sure it doesn’t become a big problem down the line like it has for so many others,” he said. “It is literally like a superpower to have a healthy relationship with technology as a teenager or a young adult today.”