Put down your phone for a second and look around: odds are good that you will see lots of people heads down in their phone, ignoring the world around them. Americans (and we are not alone in this) are obsessed with our phones, spending upwards of 5.5 hours per day on them, sometimes driven by algorithmically driven content and sometimes just by fear of missing out. Research has shown a connection between high phone use and loneliness, especially when the phone is being used for entertainment or just passing the time. The irony of the most powerful communication tool in history leading to isolation and loneliness is not lost on us, but it is nonetheless true.
That irony is also not lost on Seán Killingsworth, who as a college student in 2023 started the Reconnect Movement. His idea started with something simple: no-phone social time during events and parties in which attendees were required to check their phones at the door. What began as a campus experiment in Florida has now grown into the beginnings of a movement, with chapters on six colleges in four states, plus public events in major cities like New York, Orlando, and Tampa.
The goal isn’t to abandon technology, but to rebalance it. As Killingsworth puts it: “Phones aren't bad. They just don't belong in all social spaces.”