San Francisco students, parents pledge to give up tech for 72 hours

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- What kind of response would you get if you asked your children to give up their technology for 72 hours? Students at one San Francisco school have pledged to do just that. And a few parents are trying it, too!

The Red Hot Chili Peppers came up with a song called, "Throw Away Your Television." You know someone is eventually going to record "get rid of your smartphone." On Thursday, a group of nearly 700 students and staff from a local school did just that for 72 hours calling it mindful disconnect.

At 8 a.m. Thursday, the unthinkable happened at the Schools of the Sacred Heart in San Francisco. Students from fourth-grade through high school were asked to put away their smartphones by placing them in a sealed envelope with a tamperproof sticker attached.

"I was at first a little nervous since I spend a lot of time on my phone, especially on Instagram," said an eighth-grader named Cassie. "But I decided it would be a good thing for me to break away from my phone a little bit."

When asked what they would miss, students had a wealth of answers including Netflix, texting, and FaceTime.

The students put their phones in a secure place and made a pledge to take a tech timeout for 72 hours.

Life without a smartphone meant downtime spent playing card games or being introduced to a series of books they had never seen before called an encyclopedia.

At home they were expecting several eye-opening moments.

"We're allowed to use home phone lines so we can call each other and use a phonebook," said eighth-grader Kiki.

A UCLA study showed kids are spending more screen time than ever, and that may be affecting their personal growth.

President of the Schools of the Sacred Heart Ann Marie Krejcarek said she's heard that from students.

"I know that when I feel socially awkward, so if I'm at a table and maybe I don't feel connected to the conversation or I'm not sure who I should sit at lunch with, all I have to do is pull out my phone and I have an excuse to not be connected," she said.

Having some downtime without electronic devices is necessary for the brain to process information.

"Rest time, inactive time when actually our brains are at the most active phase in processing information and our thoughts," said Howard Levin, director of educational innovation.

Some parents also took the pledge to disconnect but only beyond working hours. Most there are betting on the kids.