A thousand secondary school pupils have been challenged to turn off their technology and do a week-long digital detox.
Pupils at Tarporley High School will pledge not to use social media or play computer games as part of an experiment on BBC Radio 5 live’s Afternoon Edition programme.
They’ll vow to stay off Snapchat, Facebook and their favourite games while BBC Radio 5 live records the results and documents their experiences.
It’s thought to be the biggest ‘digital detox’ experiment ever involving young people and comes as concern about how much time school children spend gaming and on social media is growing.
RELATED STORY:Tarporley teacher chosen to record BBC voice-over
BBC Radio 5 live and BBC News School Report will ask the pupils to record video diaries and the school will conduct a survey during the week about the young people’s experiences.
Presenter Chris Warburton will launch the challenge tomorrow morning (Wednesday, March 2) at Tarporley High School and will broadcast from the school throughout the week.
Chris Warburton said: “As a dad, I know how much children love gadgets and being online and I worry about how much time they spend in front of screens. It’ll be fascinating to see how many students can last the week without access to their favourite social sites and games.”
RELATED STORY:Tarporley students hear testimony from Holocaust survivor
Ffion Eaton, assistant headteacher at Tarporley High School, said: “This pledge will certainly be a great challenge for the whole school community as technology is such an integral part of all of our lives. We are very excited about this opportunity to reflect on life without aspects of technology and will be particularly fascinated to see how students and staff will choose to spend their time.”
