摘要：你是否也曾感到，手机正将校园变成一群“僵尸”穿梭的荒原？当视线总被屏幕锁死，真实的连接何处寻觅？一位大学生对此说“不”，并创立了“重拾联系”运动：参与者上交手机一小时，只是单纯地交谈、徒步或冥想。这场运动正从佛罗里达州蔓延至全美，它并非强制戒断，而是温柔地开辟

有趣灵魂说

你是否也曾感到，手机正将校园变成一群“僵尸”穿梭的荒原？当视线总被屏幕锁死，真实的连接何处寻觅？一位大学生对此说“不”，并创立了“重拾联系”运动：参与者上交手机一小时，只是单纯地交谈、徒步或冥想。这场运动正从佛罗里达州蔓延至全美，它并非强制戒断，而是温柔地开辟出一方“人类连接栖息地”。在这里，学生们放下数字安抚奶嘴，从尴尬到畅谈，重新发现言语的温度与共同点。这一小时的“离线”，对当代年轻人而言，究竟是奢侈的放松，还是难以承受的负担？

译文为原创，仅供个人学习使用

The New York Times ｜纽约时报

Can College Students Stand to Ditch Their Phones for an Hour or So?

大学生能忍受不用手机一小时左右吗？

A campus movement aims to find out.

一场校园运动旨在找出答案。

By Christina Caron

“There’s a certain quality to the conversations that I have, and the people that I meet here, that I had a hard time finding anywhere else,” said Mia Shaffner, the president of Reconnect at the University of Central Florida. When the group is ready to disperse, she encourages everyone to call each other instead of texting. Agnes Lopez for The New York Times

"在这里进行的对话和遇到的人，有着一种我在其他地方难以找到的特质，"中佛罗里达大学"重拾联系"社团的主席米娅·沙夫纳说道。当社团活动准备结束时，她会鼓励大家互相打电话而不是发短信。艾格尼丝·洛佩兹为《纽约时报》摄影报道

几乎每个学生手里都攥着一部手机穿梭在中佛罗里达大学的校园里，即使是成群结队走路时也是如此。笔记本电脑和平板电脑是午餐时分的伴侣，耳塞和耳机是常规配饰。在等待上课开始时，许多学生沉默地坐着，沉浸在他们的设备中。

对于22岁的前中佛罗里达大学学生肖恩·基林斯沃思来说，这是一幅熟悉且令人沮丧的场景。"这是我想要的生活吗？"他在大二时这样问自己。"感觉就像，我在和一群僵尸说话。"

基林斯沃思先生渴望有一个空间，让他可以与同龄人聊天，而不会感觉自己在打扰对方。他高中时就遇到过类似的困境，所以他那时会组织与朋友的无手机聚会。

大学里为什么不能也这样做呢？

2023年，他帮助将"无手机社交时间"的理念带到了佛罗里达州的两个不同校园——中佛罗里达大学和罗林斯学院。他称之为"重拾联系运动"：在聚会期间，每个人都必须交出手机，在没有设备的情况下进行社交，这一概念已成为志同道合学生的巨大吸引力。"重拾联系"现已扩展到4个州的6所学校。并在9月份将其影响力扩大到学生之外，在纽约举办了一场任何人都可以参加的无手机活动——奥兰多和坦帕的活动也将随后举行。

"重拾联系"的流行与成人和青少年对智能手机和社交媒体看法上的文化转变相吻合。

专家们已经就数字媒体潜在的心理健康危险敲响了警钟，尽管很难证明这项技术与年轻人孤独、焦虑和抑郁率上升之间存在因果关系。诸如"等到八年级"（Wait Until 8th）等减少或延迟智能手机使用的运动，以及像乔纳森·海特畅销书《焦虑的一代》这样的书籍，引起了深刻的共鸣，尤其是在父母当中。与此同时，全国各地不断涌现新的法律，禁止在公立学校使用手机。

由学生领导的运动经常鼓励戒除手机，但基林斯沃思先生的"重拾联系运动"并不强迫学生改变他们与技术的关系。相反，它旨在创造他所谓的"人类连接栖息地"，从而消除了对意志力的需求。

基林斯沃思先生说，这个想法并不特别新颖，但新颖并不是他这一代人所需要的。"Z世代需要一个我们从未经历过的常态，"他说。

构建"人类连接栖息地"

在最近一个闷热的下午，近40名学生聚集在中佛罗里达大学校园植物园，参加秋季学期的第一次"重拾联系"聚会。在将设备交给"手机侍者"后，他们盘腿坐在拼布毯子上，准备度过一小时没有屏幕的时光。

随着CD播放器传出斯蒂克·菲格乐队（Stick Figure）的雷鬼音乐，许多学生开始进行眼神交流和小声交谈。如果你以为自己被传送回了20年前，那也是情有可原的。

该社团主席、20岁的米娅·沙夫纳说，会议开始时学生可能会感到不适。她说，手机充当了"数字安抚奶嘴"的角色，她的同龄人在感到不安时倾向于刷手机。但她补充说，到最后，他们会互相了解，并意识到交谈"并不像他们想的那么困难"。

一开始，她让小组进行自我介绍，并分享本周的一件高兴事和一件低落事。社团的社交媒体协调员、20岁的泰勒·拉德特为这次活动制作了布朗黄油MM饼干，她分享了自己的高兴事：纹了一个身穿靴子、头戴牛仔帽、挥舞着大套索的条纹猫纹身——灵感来自她在威斯康星州老家的两只猫，班迪特和拉基。

后来，当小组开始一对一聊天时，这便成了一个对话的开端。

"这引导我分享了我的其他纹身、它们的含义，然后我们从那里开始谈论彼此的兴趣和他们自己的宠物，"拉德特女士说。"你永远不知道你们可能有什么共同点。"

有时，"重拾联系"的参与者会一起徒步旅行，然后进行野外烧烤。其他时候，他们会一起创作艺术或冥想（考试期间的一项热门活动）。

今天，他们只是聊天。

像这样的社团"迫使我不待在宿舍里，吃东西，瘫在床上发霉，"18岁的大一新生丹尼尔·林德曼说，他补充说，他加入"重拾联系"是为了帮助实现他每天认识四个新人的目标。

当被问及是否发现过其他同龄人不看手机的环境时，他停顿了一下，思考了片刻。

"并没有，"他说。

在社交"荒原"中穿行

在校园里，学生们常常锁定在屏幕和数字设备上，现实生活中的连接尝试很容易被错过。

18岁的生物技术专业大一新生伊莎贝拉·奥尔蒂斯加入"重拾联系"是为了结识新朋友。她回忆起最近在校园里试图与另一名学生交流但未果。"我喜欢你的头发，"她当时说道。但那名戴着耳机的学生没有听到她说话。

奥尔蒂斯女士觉得，学校里的每个人——包括她自己——都长期在线。她以前尝试过删除社交媒体平台，但是，她承认，"效果不是很好。"

基林斯沃思先生曾一度强迫性地看手机："那是一种持续不断的、一天24小时、一周7天的感觉，觉得我需要在线：我感觉到了一个通知。那是一封邮件。我需要在某个时候回复。"

而社交媒体的比较让他感到挫败："Snapchat让我比以往任何时候都更在意自己的外表，"他说。在Instagram上，他会看到 fellow 滑板爱好者在惊人的滑板公园里做疯狂技巧的视频，这让他觉得自己比不上。

于是，他删除了社交媒体，并在此后换成了翻盖手机，他说，因为他认定智能手机阻碍了他"以快乐的方式"生活。去年秋天，在弗吉尼亚州韦尔斯洞由弗吉尼亚校园自杀预防中心主办的演讲中，基林斯沃思先生警告说，手机会"削弱和破坏"社会生态系统，并称Z世代的社交环境为"荒原"。

但是，像心理学家坎迪斯·L·奥杰斯这样的学者对数字媒体是否如常被描绘的那样是妖魔提出了质疑。她认为，更频繁地使用社交媒体可能反映了潜在的抑郁或焦虑症状。在她看来，没有足够的证据表明大量使用社交媒体会引发那些心理健康问题。奥杰斯博士和其他人也指出，社交媒体平台为人们提供了独特的自我表达和联系途径。

当被问及对此事的看法时，青少年报告说他们喜欢从设备中休息一下。皮尤研究中心2023年的一项研究发现，大约四分之三的青少年在没有智能手机时感到快乐或平静。即便如此，超过40%的青少年承认，当他们没有手机时，有时会感到焦虑、不安和孤独。

不过，基林斯沃思先生说，一旦每个人在"重拾联系"聚会上把手机放在一边，焦虑感往往会减轻。

他说，到明年年底，还将有11个"重拾联系"分会投入运营，其中包括高中、大学和城市。但是，尽管对"重拾联系"的兴趣一直在扩散，但对一些学生来说，无手机俱乐部的想法仍然要求太高了。

在最近的中佛罗里达大学聚会上，一位年轻女子走近人群，好奇地想了解更多。但当基林斯沃思先生提出要为她"代管"手机时，她犹豫了。

"我以为只是不用它——我不知道你们会收走，"她说。"我想我还是走吧。"◾

Nearly every student clutches a phone in one hand as they traverse the University of Central Florida campus, even while walking in groups. Laptops and tablets are lunchtime companions, and earbuds and headphones are routine accessories. While waiting for class to start, many students sit in silence, drawn into their devices.

It is a familiar and exasperating scene for Seán Killingsworth, 22, a former U.C.F. student. “What is this life I’m signing up for?” he asked himself during his sophomore year. “It was just like, I’m talking to a bunch of zombies.”

Mr. Killingsworth craved a space where he could chat with his peers without feeling as though he was intruding. When he was in high school, he ran into similar conundrums, so he would organize phone-free hangouts with friends.

Why not in college too?

In 2023, he helped bring the idea of no-phone social time to two different Florida campuses — U.C.F. and Rollins College. He called it the Reconnect Movement: During meetings, everyone was required to hand over their phone and socialize without devices, a concept that has become a big draw for like-minded students. Reconnect has now spread to six schools in four states. And in September it broadened its reach beyond students, hosting a phone-free event in New York— soon to be followed by Orlando and Tampa — that anyone could attend.

Reconnect’s popularity dovetails with a cultural shift in how smartphones and social media are perceived by adults and adolescents alike.

Experts have sounded the alarmabout the potential mental health dangers of digital media, even though it’s hard to provea causal connection between this technology and the rising rates of loneliness, anxiety and depressionin young people. Campaigns to reduce or delay smartphone use like “Wait Until 8th” and books like Jonathan Haidt’s best-selling “The Anxious Generation” have struck a deep chord, particularly with parents. Meanwhile, new laws are popping up countrywide to ban phones at public schools

Student-ledmovementshave often encouraged phone abstinence, but Mr. Killingsworth’s Reconnect Movement doesn’t push students to change their relationship with technology. Instead, it aims to create what he called “human connection habitats” that eliminate the need for willpower.

The idea isn’t particularly novel, Mr. Killingsworth said, but novel isn’t what his generation needs. “Gen Z needs a normal that we’ve never experienced,” he said.

Building a ‘human connection habitat’

On a recent sticky afternoon nearly 40 students gathered at the U.C.F. campus arboretum for the first Reconnect meeting of the fall semester. After surrendering their devices to a “phone valet,” they sat cross-legged on patchwork blankets and prepared to spend one hour without screens.

As a CD player belted out reggae music from the band Stick Figure, many of the students began to make eye contact and small talk. You would be forgiven for thinking you had been transported back 20 years.

Students can feel uncomfortable at the start of a meeting, said Mia Shaffner, 20, the U.C.F. club president. Phones act as a “digital pacifier,” she said, and her peers tend to scroll when they feel uneasy. But by the end, she added, they get to know each other and realize that talking is “not really as difficult as they think it is.”

To start, she asked the group to introduce themselves, and share one high point from the week along with a low point. Taylor Radtke, 20, the club’s social media coordinator who had made brown butter MM cookies for the event, shared her high: getting a tattoo of a striped cat wearing boots and a cowboy hat, wielding a large lasso — inspired by her two cats back home in Wisconsin, Bandit and Lucky.

Later, when the group began to chat one on one, it would serve as a conversation starter.

“It led me to share about my other tattoos, their meanings, and from there we got to talking about each other’s interests and their own pets,” Ms. Radtke said. “You never know what you might have in common.”

Sometimes Reconnect participants gather for a hike followed by a cookout. Other times they create art together or meditate (a popular activity during finals).

Today, they would just talk.

A club like this “forces me to not stay in my dorm and eat food and rot in bed,” said Daniel Lindemann, 18, a freshman who added that he joined Reconnect to help meet his goal of getting to know four new people a day.

When asked if he had found any other environment where his peers weren’t on phones, he paused and thought for a moment.

“Not really,” he said.

Navigating the social ‘wasteland’

On campus, where students are often locked into screens and digital devices, bids for real-life connection can be easily missed.

Isabella Ortiz, 18, a freshman biotechnology major, joined Reconnect to meet new friends. She recalled a futile attempt to communicate with another student on campus recently. “I like your hair,” she had said at the time. But the other student, who was wearing headphones, didn’t hear her.

Ms. Ortiz says she feels as though everyone at school — herself included — is chronically online. She has trieddeleting social media platforms before, but, she admitted, “it hasn’t been very successful.”

At one point Mr. Killingsworth was compulsively looking at his phone: “It would be a constant 24-7 feeling that I need to be on: I’m feeling a notification. That’s an email. I need to respond to that at some point.”

And social media comparisons left him feeling defeated: “Snapchat made me more self-conscious about my appearance than I’d ever been before,” he said. Instagram, where he would watch clips of fellow skateboarders doing crazy tricks in amazing skate parks, made him feel like he didn’t measure up.

So he deleted social media and has since switched to a flip phone, he said, after deciding that the smartphone prevented him from living his life “in a happy way.” During a speechlast fall in Weyers Cave, Va., hosted by The Campus Suicide Prevention Center of Virginia, Mr. Killingsworth warned that phones “weaken and destroy” social ecosystems and called Gen Z’s social environment a “wasteland.”

But scholars like the psychologist Candice L. Odgershave questionedwhether digital media is the boogeyman that it is often made out to be. She argues that more frequent social media usemay reflect underlying symptoms of depression or anxiety. In her view, there isn’t sufficient evidence to suggest that using social media a lot would prompt those mental health issues. Dr. Odgers and others have also noted that social media platforms provide people with a unique means of self-expression and connection

When asked for their opinion on the matter, teenagers report that they enjoy taking breaks from their devices. A 2023 studyfrom the Pew Research Center found that about three-quarters of teens felt happy or peaceful when they didn’t have their smartphone. Even so, more than 40 percent admitted that when they didn’t have their phones, it sometimes made them feel anxious, upset and lonely.

Once everyone has set aside their phones at Reconnect meet-ups, though, Mr. Killingsworth said that anxiety tended to lessen.

By the end of next year, he said, 11 more Reconnect chapters should be up and running, a list that includes high schools, colleges and cities. But while interest in Reconnect has been spreading, the idea of a phone-free club is still too big an ask for some students.

At the recent U.C.F. meeting, a young woman approached the group, curious to find out more. But when Mr. Killingsworth offered to “valet” her phone, she hesitated.

“I thought you just didn’t use it — I didn’t know you took it away,” she said. “I think I’m just going to go.”

来源：左右图史