The Disconnect to Connect Challenge encourages students to connect with each other without the use of cell phones and social media for a designated period of time. This can occur during lunches, club meeting time, flex periods, or after school depending on a school’s schedule. Although this campaign can take place at any time, it can be a great project to recognize the National Day of Unplugging, which occurs each March.
Objectives:
- Students will reflect on the impact of social media and cell phone use in their daily lives
- Students will experience a break from their devices to reflect on their habits and connections
- Students will engage in alternative activities to foster real-world connections and interpersonal interactions
- Students will discuss the possible benefits of prioritizing in-person connection and balancing electronic usage
Connect Challenge Instructions:
- Gather students in a designated safe location (cafeteria, classroom, library, etc.) and describe the objectives of the challenge.
- Engage students in a pre-activity discussion about social media/cell phone use and its advantages and disadvantages (sample questions provided).
- Store student cell phones in a safe, designated area and use a post-it note to label each student’s cell phone.
- Ask students to spend a designated period of time phone-free and focus on face-to-face interactions using the items in the activity basket. You can determine the amount of time based on your schedule, but we recommend trying 30 minutes.
- Facilitate a post-activity discussion to help students reflect on the experience of taking an intentional phone/social media break.
- End with the Disconnect to Connect Individual Reflection..
If the time and structure of the activity permit, consider having a group discussion before and/or after the activity. You could also put pieces of paper with the discussion questions around the room and have the students contribute their responses using post-it notes. This is a great option if the challenge is occurring during a less structured period where sit-down conversations might not be possible.
Pre-Activity Discussion
- How much time do you spend on your cell phone daily?
- How do cell phone use and social media affect your mood and relationships?
- Have you ever thought about taking a break from social media?
- What type of activities do you enjoy doing when not on your cell phone?
- Do you personally know of anyone who had a bad experience from excessive social media, and if so, do you know what the impact was on that person?
Post-Activity Discussion
- How did it feel to be without a cell phone/social media?
- Did you encounter any challenges or surprises?
- Â What did you learn about connecting with others?
- Â How did face-to-face contact affect your mood and relationships?
- Â Will you consider incorporating regular breaks from social media in the future?
- What are some individual ways you could recognize that it’s time for you to take a social media/cell phone break?
After completing the Disconnect to Connect Challenge and reflecting on the role cell phone use/social media has in their lives, ask students to complete the Disconnect to Connect Individual Reflection.
Please click here to download an instruction sheet for the Disconnect to Connect Challenge.
The Disconnect to Connect Challenge was created by the Disconnect to Connect Partnership with support from Aevidum.
