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Connections

New campaign encourages forgoing phones to help forge friendships

Five people surround a table in a radio talk studio: a man front left has short brown hair and a brown mustache and is wearing headphones, a black t-shirt, black pants and black shoes; a bald man front center is wearing headphones, a brown and blue striped sweater, beige pants, black shoes and several lanyards with keys around his neck; a man front right has very short dark hair and is wearing headphones, glasses, a blue sweater with a zip-up neck and wide grey stripe across the torso and sleeves, blue jeans and brown shoes; a man back left has long dark braids and is wearing headphones and a black t-shirt; a man back center has short grey hair and a grey beard and is wearing headphones and a black polo shirt; a woman back right has her dark hair pulled back in a bun and is wearing a black t-shirt and grey skirt.
David Griffin
/
WXXI News
(foreground) Adam Bellave and Dan Ofsowitz, (background) Stefan Hurd, Jerry Grimshaw and Sara Passamonte with host Evan Dawson on "Connections with Evan Dawson" on Tuesday, May 12, 2026
WXXI News

"Scroll less, connect more."

That's advice from Compeer Rochester. The nonprofit launched a new campaign to help volunteers and community members spend less time on screens, build real-life friendships, and reduce social isolation.

We talk with the organizers of the campaign and people who have benefited from it.

In studio:

For information on how to volunteer with Compeer Rochester, click here.

Evan Dawson is the host of "Connections with Evan Dawson." He joined WXXI in January 2014 after working at 13WHAM-TV, where he served as morning news anchor. He was hired as a reporter for 13WHAM-TV in 2003 before being promoted to anchor in 2007.
Megan Mack is the executive producer of "Connections with Evan Dawson" and live/televised engagement programming.
Julie Williams is an associate producer for "Connections with Evan Dawson." She started at WXXI in 2019 and has been working on Connections since 2022.