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Could You Make It a Week Without Your Phone?

I had a conversation with my mom the other day that went something like this:

Mom: Please send me an email with Trevor’s (our son’s) new address.

Me: I texted you that address two weeks ago.

Mom: I don’t read my texts; I don’t know how. In fact, I don’t think my cell phone even works.

Me: I’ll walk you through it (believing she still had an iPhone; she later told me that she took her iPhone back and got a flip phone).

Mom: I hate these things.

My mother is someone who could easily give up her cell phone. For a week, for a month, perhaps even for the rest of her life. She’s not a fan. She says she only carries one in case of an emergency. But the last time she really got into a jam, she borrowed someone else’s phone. (I’m happy to report that since the above conversation, she now does know how to at least turn her phone on!)

And then there’s the rest of us. Could I give up my phone for an entire week? I’d have to have a compelling reason to. And quite frankly right now, I can’t think of one. I’m not a phone-aholic, but there’s not a day of my life that I don’t send texts and make/receive calls. I use it to stream music when I jog, check for the cheapest gas when I need a fill-up, watch the upcoming weather reports and take photos of things that I think are interesting. Occasionally, I’ll use it to go on Facebook.

And the average teenager uses his or her phone far more often than even I do. As part of a class, nine sophomores at Black Hills High School in Washington state tracked the hours they spent on their phones every day: At the low end, teens might spend four-and-a-half hours daily on their phones. Other days, they’d spend upwards of nine hours. Nine!

But then, their teacher, David Heywood, asked these same students to watch a documentary called Screenagers (a film I haven’t seen, but my wife found it beneficial for the families she was working with at the time; here’s the trailer:

https://youtu.be/LQx2X0BXgZg

And then  Heywood did the unthinkable: He asked these nine teens to put away their phones.

You can learn what happened from NBC news by clicking here.

I applaud these brave sophomores for giving it a try. You can tell from the video that their little experiment taught them a lot…and by extension they were teaching us as well.

They didn’t just give up their phones, by the way. Sure, those smartphones were a big part of the experiment: All nine of these students’ cell phones were locked away. Students were given flip phones in case of emergencies. But they were also forbidden from playing video games. The only time they could use their computers or laptops were for school work. They were forbidden from engaging with social media for the whole week. And they were asked to track their thoughts via a video diary.

Although initially, these students felt regret over agreeing to this experiment (“I’m going insane,” “This sucks!”), by the end of the week, it was obvious they were seeing significant benefits. They were hanging out with family more. Playing guitar. Catching up with homework. Reading a book. Having great conversations over dinner.

Now in fairness, nearly every student admitted to a little cheating (which further underscores the difficulty), but all saw that there were worthwhile aspects of going phone-free. But they also couldn’t wait to get their cell phones back at the end of the week to get caught up on the life they perceived they missed.

What about you? Could you go a week without your phone? If you’re a parent, do you think you could handle a “no tech Tuesday” rule in your house? A full weekend? A full week? How about a family rule that says no tech at the dinner table?

At the very least, would you be willing to examine your own phone usage (perhaps diary it for a week)? If it seems excessive, would you be willing to cut back?

Thoughts?