Exclusive: Sarah Michelle Gellar Admits She's Always 'Present' With Her Family: 'That's Our Time to Connect'

Sarah Michelle Gellar is very aware that she needs to put her devices down when she's around her family, which includes husband Freddie Prinze Jr. and kids Charlotte and Rocky.

"I really try to be present. If I am helping my children with their homework, I put my phone away — and I don't look up answers. I am like, 'No, we're figuring this out.' We are not going to go on the phone and ask Alexa. We're doing the work, and we're going to feel better about ourselves for doing the work," the 46-year-old, who is partnering with UScellular to encourage people to participate in Global Day of Unplugging on March 1, 2024, so they can connect with the people and moments that matter most, exclusively tells Morning Honey.

Though many kids have a cellphone or tablet, the actress says her son won't get his phone until June when he graduates lower school. "We haven't hit that milestone yet, but they still have timers on it. They are both learning self-regulation. It is forcing him to stop and go, 'I have been on this too long.' My daughter pushed for social media because we made her wait longer than most of her friends," she admits. "Because her parents are public figures, there's different eyeballs on it. We held our ground though and said, 'I'm sorry. There's good things that come with having parents in the public eye and bad things.'"

"There's no roadmap for us. It's the wild, wild West," she adds of how she's navigating her kids being on social media. "There's nobody to get advice from. We just have to figure it out."

Something the mom-of-two does in her own household is making sure everyone's phones are away at the dinner table. "That's our time to connect," she shares. "I have this crazy thing called a landline, and so at a certain point in the evening, I put my phone away, and I know that if anyone needs me, they'll be important enough to have my landline. So, they can reach me in an emergency, but I can take those moments to be with the kids or be present."

Aside from being with her brood, the Buffy the Vampire Slayer alum says she loves to read. "I can get lost in a book and lose full track of time. My husband will be like, 'Where did you go?' I'm like, 'I was just reading, but I've been gone for two hours. My bad.' You need that time for yourself — you'll be healthier and more present. You'll be a better parent, partner, lover, whatever it is."

The New York native recently traveled to Las Vegas to see Bruno Mars — but no one could have their phone with them. "At first, I was like, 'Wait, what?' But then people were dancing and talking. I was like, 'This is what we're supposed to do at a concert.' I was also in Vegas for the Super Bowl, and I took less videos than I normally would have because I wanted to be in the moment. That's the whole point of this, right? It's the reset. I can be present and separate a bit," she notes.

Since the blonde beauty is all about living in the moment, her partnership with UScellular to encourage people to participate in Global Day of Unplugging on March 1, 2024 made perfect sense.

"It's something I've been speaking about for a while now — this idea that as we're becoming more and more digitally connected, we're becoming more and more disconnected because we don't have human connection. We're missing that touch, eye contact, etc. It's so easy to say something online and not have to look someone in the eye and say it," she explains of working with UScellular, which is also donating to a nonprofit for every social share of their #GlobalDayofUnplugging image. "That's really important to me. I'm not one of those people. I think technology is amazing, and I do appreciate it, but it's a balance. It's easy to fall down a rabbit hole of doom scrolling and then two hours are gone and you're like, 'What have I been doing?'"

"Unplugging is a message I feel really strongly about. You see the rise in depression, the rise in loneliness, and we know why," she continues. "And we get this false sense of security thinking there's people on the phone, but that's a different connection and you need both. We're just trying to amplify the message — the more people see it, then they hear about it, and we can donate to more programs that will also help other people, which will ultimately help with mental health and isolation, etc."