This past summer, I went on a trip abroad with a group of 16 teenagers that were my age. We met at the airport for the first time and got on our plane, which took us to Slovenia. The main rule of the trip was that you were not allowed to have your phone. Once we got off the nine-hour plane ride, the college-aged counselors took our phones and kept them in one of their bags. For the next two weeks, the only technology we had were cameras. Our families got updates through email from the counselors throughout the two weeks.

When we first arrived, we had to take a four-hour car ride into the mountains. I thought it would be the longest car ride of my life without my phone. Getting through the two weeks would be hard yet doable, but a road trip? There was no TikTok, Netflix, Instagram or Snapchat to keep me entertained. I was pleasantly surprised to see we could pass the time in other ways. We were just figuring out the names of the people we were with, so our first order of business was starting to learn about each other’s favorite activities and some of our similarities. We took breaks to sing songs and look at the views around us. Everyone was sleep deprived with our time change, so naps were also a necessity. Not only did I not feel car sick, but I started to resort to some of the pastimes I used to do when I was younger to keep me entertained.

Throughout the next couple of days, I played concentration, hand tennis, “I spy”, and many more games I played when I was a kid. Not being able to go to my phone the second something got uncomfortable or boring made me interact more with those around me and get creative on what we did to fill our time. After our long hike days, we would gather together, and at one campsite I mastered the slack line! I had never been able to make it two steps on the line, yet after hours of failing and new friends to coach me, I was able to make it at least 10 feet on the line. I was thrilled with my accomplishment!

After our filled days of outdoor adventures such as canyoneering, white water rafting and ziplining, we would share all sorts of stories with one another. A positive effect of being strangers with each other, allowed us to share information about ourselves no one else would know. There were no phones to record us, capture the moments or gather information on us as a detective into our social media lives. It was just us there being vulnerable. Some stories would come from left field and make the whole group laugh. One question asked was if you pooped in the school bathrooms? Would you have answered that question honestly? Having the relief of no one being able to share your answer with people, other than those around you, made everyone honest and the conversations that more enjoyable. Having no contact with the outside world, made me more connected with these strangers in two weeks, than some people I have known for years. Phones take away parts of relationships and I would have never been able to notice that without experiencing it for myself.

Not having a phone for two weeks would have been miserable if I was the only one. I would have had a fear of missing out at home and would feel alone across the world. Yet as a group effort, it made it enjoyable and the thought of others at home barely crossed my mind as I stayed busy in the moment.

Reflecting back on my time, I now realize there are more beneficial effects of not having phones than I had previously noticed at the time. I was not checking on my appearance 24/7, as I did not have to Snapchat someone every couple of minutes, which gave me the freedom from criticizing myself. How I looked had no influence on how much fun I had. Mirrors were scarce and when I saw myself, I never even thought about comparing myself to the girls around me. How flat my stomach was or how many pimples I might have had never came up in my mind during the trip, which is the longest that has ever happened since I got social media.

I thought my phone barely affected me, but this trip helped me realize the bigger impact it had on my daily life. The two weeks I spent in Slovenia were freeing and helped my emotional and physical health. My mood was better, I was more outgoing and I could fall asleep a lot faster without things on my phone going over in my head. I thank the organization Moondance every day for letting me experience this and I am excited to do it again this summer in Norway!