Survival Game: 9 Teen Gave Up Their Cellphones For A Week

The digital world has taken over every teenager in town, affecting relationships and school performance. Millennials have made their smartphones a part of their daily lives making them good candidates for digital detox. But will they survive?

"A way to encourage your teen to have a healthy relationship with technology is for everyone in the family to develop a healthy relationship with technology," parenting experts Dr. Deborah Gilboa said.

But before the whole family becomes digital slaves, teacher Dave Heywood of Black Hills High School thought of challenging students to give up their cellphones. As expected, everyone said no, but ultimately relented. Today said nine teenagers, who participated in the no-phones experiment, were given flip phones as an alternative in case of emergencies. The participants' reactions ranged from "I am going insane" to "I'm already bored" and yet they were starting to do their chores and their homework while some have started reading.

Physician and filmaker Dr. Delaney Ruston, who pegged the documentary Screenager, favored mini-digital detox for teenagers if only to change their behaviors and allow them to have an insight. A week or month or month-long detox is unrealistic though.

New York Times said there was a time when parents debated on the propriety of giving their children their car keys but now, the question has boiled down to whether what age is appropriate for their children to get a smartphone. Smartphones have become the key to unlimited access to the many benefits as well as dangers of the internet highway making it imperative for parents to take note of how their children handle their smartphones.

Live Science said children have become so dependent on the screen not only for information, entertainment but also for communication. If the children are capable of handing their technology craving then there is no problem with that. However, when a child could not concentrate on anything without holding any gadget wh