Colleges Encourage Students to Limit Phone Use and Socialize In Person

College and university officials across the country are taking steps to address students' heavy reliance on cellphones and encourage more in-person socializing. Students who report difficulty making friends have begun participating in events that require them to put away their devices, according to a report.

New York University established NYU IRL, short for "in real life," to foster a culture shift toward spending more time offline. More than 200 students and some staff recently attended an "Around the Longest Table" dinner that extended nearly the length of a city block, providing an opportunity to converse with strangers.

A junior at the university said the current college experience differs markedly from two decades ago. "If you’re someone who went to college 20 years ago, I don’t think you understand how different the experience is now, how much harder it is to interact with people," the student told The Washington Post.

" The NYU IRL program operates at the university's campuses in New York, Shanghai and Abu Dhabi. Officials plan to incorporate guidance on using devices more sparingly into student orientations. Students have responded positively to the initiatives, attending phone-free parties and other events.

One senior said the strongest connections formed through direct interaction. "The best connections I’ve made with people have been face-to-face," the senior told The Washington Post, recalling that she met her best friend when the WiFi failed during her freshman year.

The university created a space called the Nest where students can dock their phones in a charging tower and engage in activities such as crafts or reading. At the longest-table dinner, attendees used their phones only to exchange contact information and make plans with new acquaintances.

University is not alone in these efforts. The University of Alabama holds "Tech Free Thursdays" at its student center. The University of California at Berkeley provides a class on limiting technology use and operates a Project Reboot club that organizes phone-free events. These programs coincide with broader trends at the K-12 level, where cellphone bans have increased in recent years.

A 2024 report from the National Center for Health Statistics found that half of teenagers spend four hours or more each night on screens for activities unrelated to homework. Nearly half of teens surveyed by the Pew Research Center last year said social media platforms have a mostly negative impact on people their age.

New research examining more than 40,000 U.S. schools from 2019 to 2026 determined that cellphone bans produce some benefits. Locking phones in pouches reduced daily phone use, but the study found no rise in test scores and "little evidence" of improvement in online bullying, attendance or attention in class.