Five Philadelphia area high school students were put to the test when they were asked to go for ten days without their phones, computers, ipods and other technological devices.
There were immediate ramifications. One participant, Hillary Gack, admitted to not being able to determine what time it was at work. Another student, Alex Sellen, admitted that being forced to get his news from newspapers instead of the Internet was a “messy” experience.
The students also found time do develop a few new skills like operating a calculator and opening a dictionary. At least one of their teachers, Lee Speiser, was pleasantly surprised, “I like to see that they have a pen and pencil back in their hand.”
In the end, the students learned to communicate better face-face with their family and friends and prescribe the test for all tech junkies.