Reflections on Cell Phone Free Week

“At Bush, we’ve seen the positive impacts of going phone free in the Upper School during retreats and other overnight trips,” Upper School Director Matt Lai wrote to parents and guardians prior to the start of the week. “Our hope is that our Upper School students use ‘Cell Phone Free Week’ as an opportunity to engage fully in the school and with each other.”

For the week, students were asked to keep their phones in their locker or backpack for the duration of the school day. A ping pong table and spike ball set were put out in the courtyard for use at lunch. Overall, the sense at the end of the week was that the experiment was a net positive. 

“I loved the week–I heard from many students saying they felt less stressed because there wasn’t a constant nag to respond to every text, snap, and post,” said Dean of Students Sara Fischer. 

Upper School History Teacher Chase de Saint-Félix echoed these sentiments: “Most students reported feeling more relaxed, less anxious, and more present in the moment. Instead of sitting on benches and staring at their phones, students congregated in the halls to chat with each other, making it very crowded and hard to walk from room to room!”

Many students reported that they felt more connected to their peers, more productive and felt better being off of their phones. There were also some challenges for students with the restrictions. Some students struggled with not being able to quickly tell the time or access their class schedule. Meetups with friends, usually done through a quick text message, had to be figured out ahead of time, in true 1990s fashion. The lack of music was also an issue for some students. 

“I liked the phone free week, as it helped create less of a divide between humans,” said Upper School History Teacher Caroline Lowe. Though polarizing for some, some students even suggested implementing the policy on a more regular basis (though not all the time). The week seemed to bring the community closer together. “Having spaces (like school and class) without phones is nicer,” said Caroline.