Reclaiming the Spaces Where Real Life Happens

Young people are
lost.

Kizzuna is a film and speaking initiative made by young people who grew up without the spaces childhood needs — and found their way back to something real. Bring it to your campus.

Book for Your Campus Watch the Trailer

The Space We Lost

We grew up without
third places.
Without afternoons that
didn't belong to anyone.
Without the boredom
that turns into something real.

Then we got phones — and suddenly there was somewhere to go. They promised connection. Belonging. Somewhere to be. And for a while, it felt like enough.

We're asking about both.

filming 1

Our Work

We lost the space.
Then we found
the phone.

The space came first. Childhood used to have physical places, unstructured time, the freedom to be bored and find something better. That space started disappearing in the 70s and 80s — before any of us had a phone.

Then phones arrived and offered connection, stimulation, somewhere to belong. They stepped into the void — not as the cause, but as a response to what was already missing. Kizzuna explores both halves of that story through the documentary Disconnected and our live campus events.

Lost Childhood Space Free Play & Exploration Digital Displacement Reclaiming Connection Real-World Community
About the Film

Why This Matters Now

The numbers behind
both stories.

0h

Hours of free time the average American child has lost per week since 1981 — mostly from unstructured outdoor play. This happened before anyone had a smartphone.

0h

Average daily screen time for Gen Z. Not because we love our phones. Because the space the phone promises — connection, belonging, somewhere to go — stopped existing anywhere else.

0%

Of college students report feeling overwhelmed. They're carrying two things at once — and most of them don't have a word for either one.

Two things happened to this generation. Most people only talk about one of them.
That's where we start.

Live on Campus

A conversation,
not a presentation.

Our speaking events are led by people the same age as your students. We use humor, personal stories, and honest reflection to open a dialogue about something every student is quietly living — but rarely discussing.

  • Starts before the phone — with the spaces already disappearing
  • Peer-to-peer tone — no lectures, no judgment
  • Research-backed, emotionally grounded
  • Pairs with film screening or stands alone
Learn About Speaking Events

"We grew up without the spaces where childhood happens. Then the phone arrived and said: here's somewhere to go. We're trying to understand both of those things — because you can't fix one without the other."

— The Kizzuna Team

From Campuses Like Yours

What they're saying.

"Our students were fully present for the first time in years. No one was on their phones. That tells you everything."

Director of Student Life

Large Public University, Midwest

"I came in skeptical — I've seen a lot of wellness programming. This one actually hit different. The humor, the honesty, the peer connection. Students were still talking about it a week later."

Campus Programming Board Chair

Private Liberal Arts College

"It addressed the thing we'd been dancing around for two years without knowing how to approach it. Disconnected gave us the language."

Dean of Students

Urban Research University

Ready to Bring Kizzuna to Your Campus?

Your students are already feeling this.
Give them a space to talk about it.

We work with student life offices, programming boards, counseling centers, and academic departments to create meaningful, well-attended events.

Book an Event Meet the Team