Auhana Hannan, a junior at the College of Arts & Science, thinks she was happier as a kid — before she had a smartphone.

“I actually went outside and played, and I didn’t need to constantly text all my friends,” she told WSN. “I would just see them at school the next day and everything would be fine.”

NYU IRL’s monthlong Phone Breakup Challenge, which ended on Oct. 25, helped her recall what it felt like to live in a world before smartphones. For the challenge, “How to Break Up with Your Phone” author Catherine Price dared students to make their phones black and white, call friends instead of texting them and — in the most terrifying challenge of all — go cold turkey from their phones for a harrowing 24 hours.

In the NEST, the Kimmel Center for University Life’s phone-free lounge where Hannan also works, students participated in face-to-face activities like tote bag decorating and Polaroid snapping. Hannan said the space, equipped with plushies, puzzles and games, helped students make friends without the pressures of technology.

“Having spaces like the NEST where you meet people in real time, you make those connections in real time,” Hannan said. “You’re like, ‘Oh my gosh, I actually really like talking to you. How about later we connect and get a coffee or something?’”

Figures behind NYU IRL have compared getting off your phone to a journey of reclamation. Jonathan Haidt, whose work inspired the program, urged the class of 2026 on commencement day to “take control of your own attention” back from social media platforms. In her Presidential Welcome speech this year, NYU President Linda Mills encouraged incoming first-years to put down their devices and “embrace real life.”

Although Tandon sophomore Ishani Upadhyaya attributes her recent decrease in screentime to being busy with midterms, she said that the challenge also helped keep her on track. She said her screen time a month ago was five hours per day, and now, it is down to two hours. Upadhyaya set out to read more and said that over the 30-day challenge, she was working her way through a self-care book.

“At first, it was a little bit hard to keep myself from being on my phone. But then, as the challenge progressed, I was able to get rid of that urge,” Upadhyaya told WSN. “I would hopefully not get back to having the urge to pick up my phone whenever I’m not doing something, or if I’m on the bus. Hopefully that sticks.”

Both Hannan and Upadhyaya proposed suggestions for improving the challenge, should administrators organize the initiative again. Upadhyaya suggested that NYU offer students a reward for signing up. Hannan noticed attendance waning at the NEST as the challenge progressed and thought having lower-commitment, drop-in activities may help with student retention.

“At the NEST, we would have a lot of people come in and say, ‘Oh my gosh! I heard about the challenge and I heard about the event, but I wasn’t able to make it during that time,’” Hannan said. “And we’d have to turn them down because it wasn’t the scheduled day for the activity.”

Hannan said that she has spent more time with her friends to avoid the temptation of using her phone. When she received a notification, she would first assess its urgency: Could she reply to that email later?

“I feel like I’m more intentional with my phone usage now, especially when I’m in the middle of doing work or in class or just throughout my waking day,” Hannan said. “I try to reevaluate why I’m trying to use my phone before I even go and reach for it.”

Contact Iris Miller at [email protected].