Smartphones are a technical marvel.
But they are also highly addictive, primarily because of social media engagement.
It's a vicious cycle where one posts a photo or thought of the day and constantly checks in to respond with any comments that follow. There are texts to answer and emails to send.
Who has time to put their phone down?
But Vitaminwater is challenging anyone willing to go off the grid for an entire year. And they are offering $100,000 as an incentive.
To whoever gets picked.
The Coca-Cola-owned company's "Scroll Free For a Year" contest was announced on Tuesday and outlined the rules on the Vitaminwater website.
Here are some of the basics:
- You can enter the contest through the hashtags #nophoneforayear and #contest on Twitter and Instagram.
- Explain why you need a break from your phone and what you would do with your free time.
- The deadline to enter is by 11:59 p.m. ET on January 8, 2019.
- One entry will be picked on January 22, 2019 and notified by Vitaminwater through the contestant's social media account.
- The grand prize is a "1966-era cellular telephone" which will be used by the winner with an accompanying phone plan.
- The winner will also sign a contract committing to no smartphone usage for a year and will be rewarded with $100,000 if there is no evidence of a breach at the end of that year.
Prospective participants have already answered the call.
Can you relate to some of these motives?
While the pervasive device constitutes an appendage for some people, there is potential for mental health risks for those addicted to their phones, according to Forbes.
A study was conducted by MIT's Sloan Management Review in which students in Italy and France were required to give up their phones for one day. Feelings of anxiety and loss of motivation were some of the results.
A separate but similar experiment in the U.S. showed signs of depression, cognitive impairment and feelings of loss and isolation from those who were heavily reliant on their smartphones.
It might do us all some good to take a break.
The question is, can you even last one week?