Four days from now it is National Day of Unplugging, which starts sundown, Friday, March 6th, and goes until sundown Saturday, March 7th. Now is a perfect opportunity to talk with youth about how they (and you) would feel about putting tech away for 24 hours (or less or more) for this National Day of Unplugging. The key questions to ask are, "Why do it?" "Will it be restful or stressful?" and "How to do it?"
The National Day of Unplugging started about a decade ago. The project is an outgrowth of The Sabbath Manifesto, an adaption of the ritual of carving out one day per week to unwind, unplug, relax, reflect, get outdoors, and connect with loved ones.
Now every year, there are more than 1,000 events around the country.
Even if it doesn't work for you or your kids to unplug for a whole 24 hours, picking just a segment of that time, like maybe the night of March 6th, would be worthwhile. No matter what, these are questions worth brainstorming.
"Why do it?"
There are lots of reasons I will propose here, but of course, there are so many others as well.
"Will it be restful or stressful?"
Some people welcome the event as a time of freedom from the constant mental pull of devices. This complete "no" can allow for other things to take place. Others may react by being flooded with anxious feelings.
Recently the MIT Review wrote about professor Ron Srigley's work with his students. In 2015, Srigley asked his students to try going several days without using their cellphones at all. In 2019, he again asked students to do the same thing. Each year many students signed up for the challenge. Students from both years reported upsides and downsides of their experiences.
Some students reflected on the positives of not having a phone, reporting that it was easier to complete school work. "Writing a paper and not having a phone boosted productivity at least twice as much," one of the students claimed. "You are concentrated on one task and not worrying about anything else."
Some students gained essential insights during the challenge. One student wrote, "Having a cell phone has actually affected my personal code of morals and this scares me … I regret to admit that I have texted in class this year, something I swore to myself in high school that I would never do … "
Not surprisingly, in 2019, the students were more dependent. It was harder for them to go without their phones and all the tools that live on it, like the bus schedule or payment apps.
"How to do it?"
If you decide to unplug, how can you increase the chance that it is restful? One way is to plan. For a long time, I experimented every Tuesday, unplugging from dinner until the next morning. Any habit change is indeed an experiment, and it took me a while to realize how important it was for me to plan the emails I would need to send before I sat down for dinner. I also needed to plan alternative things to do so I could resist the urge to grab my laptop. For instance, I would set out a beading project and put a fun magazine by my couch, which I had meant to read, such as National Geographic or Eating Well. During these months, one thing I loved was that I was more relaxed and available to my family every Tuesday night.
You might suggest a card game in place of a video game or how about a scavenger hunt for things they might find outside? Or, if you are driving somewhere, maybe talk about those car games we used to do in the “olden days” where we looked for different license plates from different states.
Here are some questions to get the discussion going about the National Day of Unplugging:
If you want to host a screening of the movie in your community, please fill out this form.
*We would love for you to share this TTT any way that works for you, whether that’s on social media or via a newsletter. If you want to send it out in your newsletter we just ask that you credit us and link to our website, and let us know at lisa@screenagersmovie.com.
Stay in touch with the Screenagers community on Facebook, Twitter and leave comments below.
As well as our weekly blog, we publish videos like this one every week on the Screenagers YouTube channel
Four days from now it is National Day of Unplugging, which starts sundown, Friday, March 6th, and goes until sundown Saturday, March 7th. Now is a perfect opportunity to talk with youth about how they (and you) would feel about putting tech away for 24 hours (or less or more) for this National Day of Unplugging. The key questions to ask are, "Why do it?" "Will it be restful or stressful?" and "How to do it?"
The National Day of Unplugging started about a decade ago. The project is an outgrowth of The Sabbath Manifesto, an adaption of the ritual of carving out one day per week to unwind, unplug, relax, reflect, get outdoors, and connect with loved ones.
Now every year, there are more than 1,000 events around the country.
Even if it doesn't work for you or your kids to unplug for a whole 24 hours, picking just a segment of that time, like maybe the night of March 6th, would be worthwhile. No matter what, these are questions worth brainstorming.
"Why do it?"
There are lots of reasons I will propose here, but of course, there are so many others as well.
"Will it be restful or stressful?"
Some people welcome the event as a time of freedom from the constant mental pull of devices. This complete "no" can allow for other things to take place. Others may react by being flooded with anxious feelings.
Recently the MIT Review wrote about professor Ron Srigley's work with his students. In 2015, Srigley asked his students to try going several days without using their cellphones at all. In 2019, he again asked students to do the same thing. Each year many students signed up for the challenge. Students from both years reported upsides and downsides of their experiences.
Some students reflected on the positives of not having a phone, reporting that it was easier to complete school work. "Writing a paper and not having a phone boosted productivity at least twice as much," one of the students claimed. "You are concentrated on one task and not worrying about anything else."
Some students gained essential insights during the challenge. One student wrote, "Having a cell phone has actually affected my personal code of morals and this scares me … I regret to admit that I have texted in class this year, something I swore to myself in high school that I would never do … "
Not surprisingly, in 2019, the students were more dependent. It was harder for them to go without their phones and all the tools that live on it, like the bus schedule or payment apps.
"How to do it?"
If you decide to unplug, how can you increase the chance that it is restful? One way is to plan. For a long time, I experimented every Tuesday, unplugging from dinner until the next morning. Any habit change is indeed an experiment, and it took me a while to realize how important it was for me to plan the emails I would need to send before I sat down for dinner. I also needed to plan alternative things to do so I could resist the urge to grab my laptop. For instance, I would set out a beading project and put a fun magazine by my couch, which I had meant to read, such as National Geographic or Eating Well. During these months, one thing I loved was that I was more relaxed and available to my family every Tuesday night.
You might suggest a card game in place of a video game or how about a scavenger hunt for things they might find outside? Or, if you are driving somewhere, maybe talk about those car games we used to do in the “olden days” where we looked for different license plates from different states.
Here are some questions to get the discussion going about the National Day of Unplugging:
If you want to host a screening of the movie in your community, please fill out this form.
*We would love for you to share this TTT any way that works for you, whether that’s on social media or via a newsletter. If you want to send it out in your newsletter we just ask that you credit us and link to our website, and let us know at lisa@screenagersmovie.com.
Stay in touch with the Screenagers community on Facebook, Twitter and leave comments below.
As well as our weekly blog, we publish videos like this one every week on the Screenagers YouTube channel
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