Jimmy Liu ‘24
The digital world is filled with attractions. When we scroll through Instagram posts, watch YouTube videos, or play video games, we fail to realize that we sacrifice our precious time in the real world. On Wednesday, October 25, St. Mark’s offered us an opportunity to leave our digital “best friends” behind and enjoy a day with our real-life buddies. No Cell Phone Wednesday is a voluntary all-school activity in which students are encouraged to drop off their phones at Ms. Agosto’s office for the day. While participation is voluntary, students are motivated by a yummy food-related prize for the form that has the most participation.
Overall, St. Mark’s very first No Cell Phone Wednesday received great feedback from students of all forms. “I actually loved the idea. I think doing it on Wednesday is the most appropriate day since it's a half-day only,” commented Calvin Beard ‘24. While staying off our phones could be a difficult task, having the first no-phone day on a Wednesday with a shortened schedule reduces the time to refrain from phone use. Furthermore, Thanos Nicolopoulos ‘24 also points out that “No Phone Day definitely helped me get off my phone, and I think that it definitely wasn’t the worst thing ever.” Students like Calvin and Thanos found themselves able to focus more in classes and without the presence of a familiar, easily accessible device in their pockets.
However, despite the apparent benefits of the No Phone Day, there are a few significant drawbacks. A student says “It can be a little difficult with communication like if someone needs something from you immediately they would usually just call you on their phone.”
Phones can be our greatest distraction and our most helpful assistant, depending on how we choose to use them. While the detrimental effects of being on our phones 24/7 exist, phones allow us to always be in touch with our friends and family and prepared in case of emergencies. In addition, Thanos points out, “Maybe you could offer it every day instead of just Wednesday.” Offering No Phone Day more often and on different weekdays would be a great improvement since students may need their phones to prepare for special events and extracurricular activities on some days while they could feel free to explore a new lifestyle without the distraction of their phones on others.
Finally, while offering incentives for the participants could help improve participation in No Phone Day, it should only be up to a student whether to staying away from digital devices will be beneficial and influential for them in the long-term. Participating in such an activity focused on self-restraint would be useless if one’s goal is to compete with others for a reward.
The first No Phone Day proved to be a decent success. Should we expect similar activities from St. Mark's promoting a healthier lifestyle in the near future?