SALT LAKE CITY — A group of Utah teenagers have signed up for a program that would sound downright apocalyptic for most of their peers in the state and across the country. It's one that requires them to step away from social media for at least one year in order to reconnect with the real world.
"It made us feel just so unproductive and just gross, and like my day was a waste of time," said participant Lauren Fellars.
The 18-year-old Fellars was referring to how she would spend at least three hours a day on her smartphone engaging in social media. That was until she signed on with a Utah-based program called Rewild the Child.
The program gets kids to interact with each other in the great outdoors, which motivated Lauren to cut social media out of her life.
"We’re right in the middle of the biggest mental health crisis the youth have ever faced," claimed program founder Glen Andersen.
Anderson is concerned about how social media is impacting young people's mental health.
"Depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, self-harm, it’s all skyrocketing right now, and so we wanted to start a program to combat that," he explained.
The goal is not an easy one when so many young people are concerned about the image they project in the social media universe.
"I’ll be hanging out with groups of people, when we’re trying to take a picture, I can’t just have a goofy expression on our face, and you know I'll be doing something funny, they always have to have a pose and look a certain way," said participant Anna Hall. "I think that’s kind of sad, it’s not real."
At the end of the day, Anderson said Rewild the Child isn’t about forcing young people to put down their smartphones; rather, he calls it a challenge by choice.
"You can feel like there’s an undertone where there’s some kids that are like, we don’t like the childhood we’re living, we want to live disconnected, we just want to go out and play games and talk face-to-face and make real life connections," he said.
Those in the program don’t have to disconnect completely. If they like, they can use a Gabb Phone 4 for free.
"What it does, it gives them access to still text and call, and there’s a music app on there and there’s ways parents can track them if they want to," Anderson explained.
So far, between 60 to 70 kids have signed up for the free program, and though it’s in its infancy, it’s already getting results.
"I can focus on my classes and focus on being present in my life instead of focusing on what other people are posting or what they’re doing," shared Fellars. "I can focus on what I need to do and what I need to learn, and I can be productive and just not waste my time."
