Image source, BBC News/Kristian Johnson
As part of a five-day digital detox, ten teenagers from Salford have swapped their devices for basic phones that only allow calling and texting. How did they fare?
Will regularly stares at his smartphone for more than eight hours a day.
When he was younger, he loved cycling. He’s now 15 and spends most of his free time after college scrolling through TikTok videos.
Last week, Will spent 31 hours on social media apps alone. But he will not have access to social media for the next five days.
- Author, Kristian Johnson
- Role, BBC news
“I worry about how I’m going to deal with it,” he says. “I’ll have to be social with my parents now.”
The detox is part of a BBC project researching the smartphone habits of young people – and Will is one of ten students at Media City’s University Technical College who have agreed to trade in their phones for a basic Nokia phone.
Nearly every aspect of students’ lives will be affected; they grew up with smartphones and use the internet for everything. They communicate primarily via Snapchat or FaceTime, use Google Maps instead of AZs, and always stream music on the go.
It will be a “real challenge,” says college director Colin Grand, who will lock the students’ devices for the duration of the experiment.
Ruby dreams of becoming an actor. She says she spends way too much time on her phone and often ignores her parents while scrolling through TikTok.
Halfway through the experiment I visit her family.
When I arrive, the 16-year-old is putting the finishing touches on her makeup before heading off to college.
Her father checks whether she has her work uniform in her bag and then Ruby’s mother drives us to the tram stop.
Ruby acknowledges that taking a break from her smartphone has “opened up more conversations” with her parents — and her mother, Emma, agrees that the detox has had a positive impact on her daughter’s behavior.
“Ruby is quite addicted to her phone, so it just gives her a chance to see what it was like when I was a teenager,” says Emma.
‘She talks more and goes to bed earlier. It’s a nice break.”
As we approach the barriers at the station, we already see the tram driving away.
Normally, Ruby would check an app on her phone to find out when the next tram will arrive. Reading timetables on the display board at a tram stop is not something of this generation.
“I can’t know without a phone,” she says.
While we wait for the next tram, Ruby talks about her part-time job at a center for Nerf games for groups. She works a few times a week, but isn’t quite sure if she has a shift later today, or how long it will last.
Her manager has given her the office phone number in case she needs to clarify her hours, but she feels “a little nervous” about calling.
“You can see on the app which service you are running, but I don’t know that right now,” Ruby explains. “I never call work.”
She pays for her tram ticket – her bank card is rarely used without access to her smartphone wallet – and we set off for the hour-long journey.
Image source, BBC News/Kristian Johnson
For some teens, it was very difficult to give up their smartphones.
After just 27 hours, 14-year-old Charlie canceled and asked for his device back.
“I knew my phone was in the same building,” he says, but not knowing if someone was trying to contact him and not being able to get online was “really stressful.”
Another thing that seems to stress everyone out is the status of their Snapstreak: a total of the number of days they’ve been sending Snapchat messages to each other.
Some students admit that they are so concerned about losing the streak — which can sometimes last more than a thousand consecutive days — that they have asked friends to log into their accounts and keep them going during the detox.
Like Charlie, other students participating in the experiment acknowledge the fear of missing out, but most say they are surprised at how liberating they find the experience.
Some sleep better, they say, while others feel like they’ve been more productive without their phone.
“I feel like I’m learning things and being more involved – I don’t feel like I’m missing anything,” says Grace, 15.
Right after school, on the first day of the experiment, she and her friends went shopping for plastic jewelry to “decorate” her brick phone.
Showing it to me as we chat, Grace says the shopping trip was a good distraction from thinking about her stashed smartphone – and it had another unexpected benefit.
“It was very peaceful,” she says. “I really enjoyed it because it got my creative flow back.
“As soon as I got home, I was drawing and painting. It helped me to find the things I like again.”
Image source, BBC News/Kristian Johnson
But a group of cross-party MPs went a step further in May, saying an outright ban on smartphones for all under-16s – and not just at school – should be introduced by whoever wins the general election.
In a survey of 2,000 13 to 18-year-olds, carried out by BBC Radio 5 Live and BBCBitesize, young people were asked about various aspects of life, including mental health and their smartphone habits.
- 23% agree that smartphones under the age of 16 should be banned
- 35% believe that social media should be banned for young people under the age of 16
- 50% say not having their smartphone with them makes them anxious. Last year this figure was slightly higher (56%)
By simply participating in this digital detox, these teenagers set themselves apart from their contemporaries. In the BBC survey, 74% of young people surveyed said they would not consider swapping their smartphones for a basic device.
After five long days, it’s time for the students to be reunited with their smartphones.
The excitement is high as a teacher walks to the college vault to pick them up. Several students scream in anticipation.
As soon as they turn their phones back on, the teens are glued to their screens, scrolling and following group chats.
But most say that after participating in the detox, they are eager to find ways to limit their screen time.
“It’s made me realize how much time I’ve been spending on social media, and I’ve realized that I need to spend less time on it and get out more,” Will acknowledges. “I’m going to try to use TikTok less, that’s for sure.”
He admits it was difficult, and he especially missed listening to music. But time away from his phone has allowed Will to rekindle his passion for cycling – something he’s determined to continue instead of spending endless hours scrolling.
“Eight hours a day is just crazy,” he says.