Phoney was created by a mom navigating modern parenting — balancing presence, work, and the reality of living in a phone-centered world.
When I became a mom, I wanted to lean into limiting my child’s exposure to screens for as long as I reasonably could.
I knew it wouldn’t be forever — and I also knew that every family does this differently.
We don’t do much TV, but as my son got older, I started noticing something I hadn’t really thought about at first: even without screens meant for him, he was very aware of mine.
He started noticing when I was on my phone. He watched. He reached for it.
Then I remembered a funny reel I had seen on Instagram.
It showed a family sitting together, peacefully reading books — until the camera pans over and you realize one of the “books” is actually hiding a phone.
It was meant to be humorous. And it was.
But I also thought… wait, that could actually work.
Phoney was born from that moment — from real-life parenting, a bit of humor, and the desire to find a gentle, realistic way to reduce phone exposure without shame or perfection.
Just one more option for families trying to be a little more present, in a very imperfect world
