{"id":75524,"date":"2024-04-03T19:41:21","date_gmt":"2024-04-04T01:41:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/?p=75524"},"modified":"2024-04-03T19:41:21","modified_gmt":"2024-04-04T01:41:21","slug":"disconnect-to-reconnect-with-the-real-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/2024\/04\/03\/disconnect-to-reconnect-with-the-real-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Disconnect to Reconnect with the real world"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Disconnect to Reconnect:<\/strong> Mike Napire, one of the organizers of campaign stands next to a whiteboard outside the Interfaith Centre in Stan Grad Centre on Friday, March 7, 2024. It was the last day of the “Disconnect to Reconnect” campaign. (Photo by Ramneet Kaur Sidhu\/The Press)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

People are spending more and more time on their phones. This can be especially true of SAIT students, who use computers while on campus during the day, and then have their phone time at night.<\/p>\n

As a way to help students spend less time using screens, a group called Outreach and Wellness Leaders (OWLS) has started a campaign known as Disconnect to Reconnect, which is a measure with a mindful message ensuring the mental and physical well-being of those on the SAIT campus.<\/p>\n

This annual, weeklong campaign was first organized in 2019 to provide students with a much-needed break from technological devices. It was not held from 2020 to 2022, however, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n

\u201cHumans thrive on social interaction,\u201d said Emma Rodgers, one of the organizers of the campaign.<\/p>\n

Face-to-face conversations, eye contact, and facial expressions are important parts of communication.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe use cell phones for communication, we use them for social connection online,\u201d said Rodgers.<\/p>\n

As gadgets have advanced and virtual communication becomes easier, that could make people vulnerable to losing real-world connections.<\/p>\n

According to statistics from Apple, an average iPhone user unlocks their device up to 80 times a day, which can equate to seven hours of screen time, excluding study, lectures, TV and online gaming hours.<\/p>\n

The recommended screen time limit is two hours, however individuals are exceeding this by four or five times a day.<\/p>\n

Everybody has been so bustling on their screens that people often miss things like discussions with neighbours, conversations among groups of friends and smiles from stranger, added Rodgers.<\/p>\n

The negative impacts of social media are not illustrated when it comes to individual well-being and day-to-day activities associated with brain function and productivity.<\/p>\n

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Fun day:<\/strong> Two individuals play a game of Uno as a fun activity at the Interfaith Centre in Stan Grad Centre on Friday, March 7, 2024.\u00a0 (Photo by Ramneet Kaur Sidhu\/The Press)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Use of social media can also affect how, and how much, people converse. Among today\u2019s generation, social media is seen as a form of escapism from the real world.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re not really dealing with the issue,\u201d said Art Kung, an attendee of the campaign.<\/p>\n

As a consequence, the campaign was created to encourage student participation in real world interactions.<\/p>\n

During the weeklong campaign, students played board games and enjoyed snacks and drinks. Workshops focused on teaching the students on how they can reconnect more. Applications on digital devices which allow the user to track screen time were introduced. Furthermore, students were also encouraged to add distracting apps to a blocked list, with the goal to focus more on daily activities.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are trying to provide a community where people come and are ready to speak to somebody,\u201d said Kung.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not completely right to say that social media is a bad influence on individuals. Many instances can be seen where it has helped society make connections.<\/p>\n

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Interact with people:<\/strong> Art Kung stands next to a ‘Disconnect to Reconnect’ poster at the Interfaith Centre in the Stan Grad Centre on Tuesday, March 12, 2024. Kung has been influenced by mindful message of the campaign, which encourages individuals to engage more in real-world interactions. (Photo by Ramneet Kaur Sidhu\/The Press)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Disconnect to Reconnect provides an insight to real-world connections. [ READ MORE ]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":896,"featured_media":75525,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_ef_editorial_meta_text_assignment-slug":"S1 Disconnect to Reconnect RKS","footnotes":""},"categories":[1109,1106],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-75524","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mental-health","8":"category-physical-health-and-wellness"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75524","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/896"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75524"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75524\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":76097,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75524\/revisions\/76097"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/75525"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75524"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75524"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75524"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}