NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport is famously addicted to his smartphone, having said that he never turns it off.
So Rapoport might seem like the unlikeliest person around to promote an organization that is trying to limit smartphone use by children, but that’s now an important cause for him.
The NFL insider appeared on DraftKings Network’s GoJo and Golic show Monday to give an impassioned pitch for that organization, WaitUntil8th.org.
Of course, Rapoport talked some NFL news first, but then the co-hosts asked him about the organization and his thoughts on children using smartphones.
“It’s something that is pretty important to me, pretty important to my family, and something that is picking up steam locally for me and I hope nationally,” Rapoport said. “The idea is, wait until eighth is simply delaying the use of smartphones for kids in … middle school. My kids have Apple watches, it helps us keep track of them … to me that’s different. Having a phone with no social media, to me is OK. It’s the social media, it’s the online aggression, hate, all the bad stuff. I mean, look, I live my life on my phone, and some of the stuff I see should not be seen by kids in sixth grade, seventh grade — it shouldn’t be.”
Many parents feel the same way, and try to delay their kids’ exposure to smartphones. Rapoport hopes his public visibility helps spread Wait Until 8th’s message.
“There’s a lot of social media that’s not good, and I see it all,” Rapoport said. “And so I feel like I’m the right person to hopefully take a stance and stand up and be like, ‘As long as you can delay for your children the use of smartphones, there’s a pledge you can sign.’ It’s a movement that I think is really growing and I think important, because we all have to grow into everything. To me, social media apps, there’s a point when it’s just too young and I think delaying it as long as possible is just good for everyone.”
Join @TheBanktress & I in delaying smartphones for kids with the @WaitUntil8th pledge.
No one uses social media more than I do. Kids do not need to be part of it.
When you sign the pledge, Wait Until 8th links you up with other families delaying smartphones from your child’s… pic.twitter.com/QQ5qLhHb7k
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 30, 2024
Yes, this really is the same man who in 2023 said, “I never turn my phone off,” and “If someone sends me a message, I will always see it. … the thought of turning off my phone and being like, ‘Well, anything can be happening now.’ I don’t like that.”
We’ll overlook the irony of Rapoport doing the GoJo and Golic interview using his smartphone. He’s an adult, after all.
[Ian Rapoport via X/Twitter]
About Arthur Weinstein
Arthur spends his free time traveling around the U.S. to sporting events, state and national parks, and in search of great restaurants off the beaten path.