HIGH SCHOOLERS HAVE NEVER KNOWN LIFE WITHOUT CELL PHONES. SO WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THOSE PHONES ARE TAKEN AWAY? YEAH. A GROUP OF NORTHERN KENTUCKY JUNIORS TURNED THEM IN FOR FIVE WHOLE DAYS. BRAVE TEENAGERS HERE ARE MORNING ANCHOR KELLY RIPPIN HERE NOW TO SHOW US HOW IT ALL WENT DOWN THERE. THEY ARE. I GO EVERYWHERE WITH IT. I DO UNDERSTAND THIS NOW. THIS IS THE FIRST GENERATION WHO HAVE BEEN RAISED WITH CELL PHONES. OUR CURRENT HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS WERE NOT BORN WHEN THIS TECHNOLOGY THAT WE USE ALL HOURS OF EVERY DAY FIRST DEBUTED. SO HOW DO KIDS NOW SURVIVE WITHOUT IT FOR AN ENTIRE SCHOOL WEEK? BUT BETTER YET, HOW DO THEIR FAMILIES. ALL POWER DOWN. SIGNING OFF. OH MY GOSH, THIS IS CRAZY. I’LL MISS YOU. YOU’RE ACTING LIKE SOME 16 AND 17 YEAR OLDS ARE DIGITALLY TETHERED TO THEIR CELL PHONES. I’M A CHRONIC DOOM SCROLLER. I THINK THE MOST NERVOUS IS LIKE A COMMUNICATION WITH MY MOM. SO WHAT HAPPENS WHEN SOCIAL MEDIA, DOOM SCROLLING AND COMMUNICATION ESSENTIALLY THEIR LIFELINE TO THE OUTSIDE WORLD IS CUT OFF, JUNIOR SAID. BEACHWOOD HIGH SCHOOL WERE INVITED TO FIND OUT. SIGNING A CONTRACT FOR A FIVE DAY TECHNOLOGY PURGE AND CLOSING THE LID ON LIFE AS THEY KNOW IT. WE SAT DOWN WITH THREE STUDENTS TO FIND OUT WHAT WAS MAKING THEM MOST ANXIOUS ABOUT TAKING AWAY THE DEVICE, KNOWN TO ADD TO TEEN ANXIETY, LILY MACDONALD PROBABLY HAVING THAT SUPER ACCESSIBLE COMMUNICATION WITH ALL MY FRIENDS. BUT I THINK JUST LIKE HAVING THAT LIKE SUPER FAST ACCESS TO TALKING TO EVERYONE IS GOING TO BE QUITE HARD FOR KINGSTON BROCKETT, PROBABLY MUSIC LIKE I LISTEN TO IT IN THE CAR AND EVERYTHING ELSE. THE RADIO IS ALWAYS NOT LIKE THE BEST SONG. AND FOR JULIA MOORE, OUR SELF-DESCRIBED SCREEN AGER, I HATE BEING BORED. I DON’T LIKE TO HAVE NOTHING TO DO. I DON’T LIKE TO SIT QUIETLY. I’M ALWAYS ON IT. LIKE I HAVE REALLY HIGH SCREEN TIME. OKAY, LIKE, WHAT WOULD YOU GUESS LIKE 11 HOURS A DAY? OKAY, THIS TECHNOLOGY PURGE REQUIRES STUDENTS TO BUY IN 100% AND ALSO THE ENTIRE FAMILY. I SAT DOWN WITH MY PARENTS LAST NIGHT FOR LIKE TWO HOURS AND LIKE, MADE LIKE A PAPER SCHEDULE OF EVERYTHING WE’RE DOING THIS WEEK TO STAY BUSY. STUDENTS HAD TWO ACTIVITIES PLANNED AFTER SCHOOL. THEY COULD ATTEND A CHANCE TO BOND WITH EACH OTHER IN A WAY THAT IS UNPLUGGED AND UNPRECEDENTED FOR THEM. I’VE HAD A REALLY FUN TIME. I DON’T THINK I’VE TALKED TO THIS MANY PEOPLE IN MY GRADE. LIKE, EVER TALK TO EACH OTHER? NOT JUST AROUND EACH OTHER, BE PRESENT, NAVIGATE THE WORLD WITHOUT SOMETHING TELLING YOU HOW TO DO SO. SO AFTER 100 HOURS WITHOUT PHONES. NOTIFICATIONS, THEIR GOODYEAR. I’M SO EXCITED. WHAT DID THEY LEARN? HAVING NO TECHNOLOGY WHILE YOU’RE HANGING OUT WITH PEOPLE MAKES YOU FEEL LIKE YOU’VE DONE MORE AND YOU’VE LIKE, JUST HAD A BETTER. I’VE HAD A BETTER TIME IF I’M JUST SITTING AROUND. OTHER PEOPLE ARE TALKING LIKE I PROBABLY JUST SIT ON MY PHONE, LOOK AT SOMETHING FOR SPORTS. BUT LIKE, I JUST INDULGE MYSELF MORE IN THE CONVERSATION. EVEN OUR TEENAGER SURVIVED. IT WAS GOOD. I THOUGHT IT’D BE A LOT WORSE THAN IT WAS. LIKE, I DIDN’T REALLY NOTICE. I DIDN’T HAVE A PHONE BECAUSE LIKE, WE WERE DOING STUFF LIKE ALL THE TIME. SO THERE WAS LIKE NO TIME TO REALIZE. SO OVERALL, A REALLY POSITIVE EXPERIENCE, WITH A FEW EXCEPTIONS, I HATE THE RADIO. LIKE DRIVING TO SCHOOL. I WAS SO BORED AND DRIVING HOME, I WAS SO BORED BECAUSE IT’S LITERALLY JUST PEOPLE TALKING AND THE SONGS ARE KIND OF BAD. CAR NAVIGATION. I’M REALLY, REALLY DIRECTIONALLY CHALLENGED, BUT IT WAS HARD ON SOME PEOPLE. IT MAY JUST SURPRISE YOU WHO FOR PARENTS, IT WAS VERY DIFFICULT. THE PARENTS, THE SAME KIDS WHO HAVE GROWN UP WITH TECHNOLOGY, WERE RAISED BY PARENTS WHO USED THAT TECHNOLOGY TO THEIR ADVANTAGE. I CAN’T I COULDN’T LOOK AT LIFE THROUGH 60. YOU BASKETBALL PRACTICE THIS WEEK IN NEWPORT. I WAS LIKE, OH, DID HE GET TO PRACTICE SAFE AT THE END? YOU LIKE TRUST YOUR CHILDREN, RIGHT? YOU TRUST YOUR CHILD TO MAKE SURE THEY’RE DOING THE RIGHT THINGS AND THEY’RE OKAY. THAT’S WHERE THE REAL PARENTING COME IN. AND THAT YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO TRUST THAT THEY’RE GOING TO DO THESE THINGS WITH, WITH OR WITHOUT THEIR CELL PHONES, WITH OR WITHOUT A GOOD EXPERIMENT FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY. SO THE TECH PURGE WASN’T JUST THE CELL PHONES, IT ALSO WAS HOME IPADS, HOME COMPUTERS, GAMING SYSTEMS. AND THEY DID HAVE LIMITED TV TIME. NOW, OF COURSE, THIS WAS EYE OPENING FOR EVERYONE AND IT TAUGHT THEM VALUABLE LESSONS ABOUT JUST DISCONNECTING. AND MANY OF THEM SAID THEY’RE GOING TO MAKE THIS CONSCIOUS EFFORT TO DISCONNECT GOING FORWARD. THAT WAS THAT WAS MY NEXT QUESTION FOR YOU. IS ARE THEY REALLY GOING TO DO IT? DO YOU THINK THAT THEY WILL START TO LIMIT THEMSELVES? I MEAN, WHEN I HEARD THE ONE GIRL SAY SHE THOUGHT SHE WAS ON ABOUT 11 HOURS A DAY AS A PARENT, I WAS LIKE, OH, BUT IT HAPPENS. IT HAPPENS. AND I THINK THEY REALIZED, I BELIEVE IT WAS LILY WHO SAID, I COULD TELL YOU EVERYTHING I DID THIS WEEK, AND I DON’T KNOW IF I COULD HAVE DONE THAT BEFORE. SHE SAID. SHE JUST FELT LIKE SHE WAS SO PRESENT THAT SHE COULD RECOUNT EVERYTHING. THIS ALSO WAS AN ASSIGNMENT. THE STUDENTS JOURNALED IN ENGLISH CLASS EVERY DAY, AND THEY ALSO HAD TO WRITE A RESEARCH PAPER BY HAND. IN PRINT. YES. YEAH, RIGHT. IT ALL. THEY DON’T KNOW HOW TO WRITE IN CURSIVE ANYMORE. THEY HAD TO LEARN. IT’S A GREAT EXPERIMENT. AT THE VERY LEAST, I WOULD CHALLENGE MAYBE ASK YOUR KIDS TO DELETE THEIR FAVORITE APP. I DID THAT WITH MY ONE SON. HE WAS LIKE, I COULD REALLY ACTUALLY FOCUS A LOT MORE. NOT HAVING TIKTOK, SNAPCHAT, WHATEVER I
Could you go 100 hours without your phone? These high schoolers tested it
Updated: 5:24 PM EDT Apr 23, 2026
These days, most high schoolers have never known life without a cell phone. So what happens when those phones are taken away?Well, a group of northern Kentucky juniors turned them in for five whole days and WLWT followed them to see how life was unplugged.The group of Juniors at Beechwood High School in Northern Kentucky participated in a five-day technology purge, giving up cell phones, iPads, home computers, game systems, and limiting TV time to explore life without constant digital connection. The students signed a contract to commit to the challenge, which required full participation from their families as well. For many, the idea of disconnecting from their devices was intimidating. “I’m nervous for how my communication and my free time is going to be spent at home because I’m a chronic doom scroller,” one student said. Another student expressed concern about losing access to music, saying, “I had an alarm clock that I used, and it had a radio on it, so I kind of listened to that. But the radio always not like the best songs.” For Lily MacDonald, the biggest challenge was losing instant communication with friends.”Probably having that super accessible communication with all my friends. It’s just really nice to be in touch with everyone. But there’s also, like, got our school email, so we’re going to do some of that. But I think just like having that super fast access to talking to everyone, it’s going to be quite hard,” she said. Julia Moore, who described herself as a “screenager,” admitted, “I hate being bored. I don’t like that. Nothing to do. I don’t like to sit quietly. I don’t like it to be quiet. I’m like, I just love my phone. I’m always on it. Like, I’ve really high screen time. Like 11 hours a day.” To help students adjust, the school organized two after-school activities each day, encouraging them to bond and communicate face-to-face. After 100 hours without phones, students reflected on the experience. “Having no technology while you’re hanging out with people makes you feel like you’ve done more and you’ve just had a better time,” one student said. Another added, “I’m able to talk more rather than being on my phone. Like, if I’m just sitting around, other people are talking, I’ll probably just sit on my phone, look at for sports. But I just indulge myself more in the conversation rather than just sitting around.” Even Moore, the self-described “screenager,” admitted, “It was good. I thought it’d be a lot worse than it was. Like, I didn’t really notice I didn’t have a phone because, like, we were doing stuff, like, all the time, so there’s, like, no time to realize.” While the students found the experience largely positive, there were some challenges. One student said, “I hate the radio. Like driving to school. I was so bored and driving home. I was so bored because it’s literally just people talking. And the songs are kind of bad when they’re on, but normally it’s people talking.” Another noted difficulties with navigation, saying, “I’m really, really directionally challenged.” Interestingly, the parents of the students also struggled with the purge. One parent said, “I was like, okay, where is he? I couldn’t look at . He had AAU practice this week in Newport. It’s like, oh, did he get to practice safe?” Despite the challenges, the parents emphasized the importance of trusting their children. “At the end, you trust your children, right? You trust your child to make sure they’re doing the right things. That’s where the real parents come in, that you should be able to trust that they’re going to do these things with or without their cell phones,” one parent said. The technology purge was also an academic assignment. Students journaled daily in English class and wrote a research paper by hand, reflecting on their experiences. Many said the experiment taught them valuable lessons about disconnecting and expressed a desire to make a conscious effort to unplug more often in the future.
CINCINNATI —
These days, most high schoolers have never known life without a cell phone. So what happens when those phones are taken away?
Well, a group of northern Kentucky juniors turned them in for five whole days and WLWT followed them to see how life was unplugged.
The group of Juniors at Beechwood High School in Northern Kentucky participated in a five-day technology purge, giving up cell phones, iPads, home computers, game systems, and limiting TV time to explore life without constant digital connection.
The students signed a contract to commit to the challenge, which required full participation from their families as well. For many, the idea of disconnecting from their devices was intimidating.
“I’m nervous for how my communication and my free time is going to be spent at home because I’m a chronic doom scroller,” one student said.
Another student expressed concern about losing access to music, saying, “I had an alarm clock that I used, and it had a radio on it, so I kind of listened to that. But the radio always [has] not like the best songs.”
For Lily MacDonald, the biggest challenge was losing instant communication with friends.
“Probably having that super accessible communication with all my friends. It’s just really nice to be in touch with everyone. But there’s also, like, got our school email, so we’re going to do some of that. But I think just like having that super fast access to talking to everyone, it’s going to be quite hard,” she said.
Julia Moore, who described herself as a “screenager,” admitted, “I hate being bored. I don’t like that. Nothing to do. I don’t like to sit quietly. I don’t like it to be quiet. I’m like, I just love my phone. I’m always on it. Like, I’ve [a] really high screen time. Like 11 hours a day.”
To help students adjust, the school organized two after-school activities each day, encouraging them to bond and communicate face-to-face.
After 100 hours without phones, students reflected on the experience.
“Having no technology while you’re hanging out with people makes you feel like you’ve done more and you’ve just had a better time,” one student said.
Another added, “I’m able to talk more rather than being on my phone. Like, if I’m just sitting around, other people are talking, I’ll probably just sit on my phone, look at [something] for sports. But I just indulge myself more in the conversation rather than just sitting around.”
Even Moore, the self-described “screenager,” admitted, “It was good. I thought it’d be a lot worse than it was. Like, I didn’t really notice I didn’t have a phone because, like, we were doing stuff, like, all the time, so there’s, like, no time to realize.”
While the students found the experience largely positive, there were some challenges. One student said, “I hate the radio. Like driving to school. I was so bored and driving home. I was so bored because it’s literally just people talking. And the songs are kind of bad when they’re on, but normally it’s people talking.”
Another noted difficulties with navigation, saying, “I’m really, really directionally challenged.”
Interestingly, the parents of the students also struggled with the purge. One parent said, “I was like, okay, where is he? I couldn’t look at [Life360]. He had AAU practice this week in Newport. It’s like, oh, did he get to practice safe?”
Despite the challenges, the parents emphasized the importance of trusting their children. “At the end, you trust your children, right? You trust your child to make sure they’re doing the right things. That’s where the real parents come in, that you should be able to trust that they’re going to do these things with or without their cell phones,” one parent said.
The technology purge was also an academic assignment. Students journaled daily in English class and wrote a research paper by hand, reflecting on their experiences. Many said the experiment taught them valuable lessons about disconnecting and expressed a desire to make a conscious effort to unplug more often in the future.