Like most high school students, by the end of the school year, I am completely addicted to my phone. I find myself constantly checking various social media apps, texting my friends, and being unable to peel my eyes away from the lit screen.

However, for the past seven summers I have attended a summer camp for seven weeks where I do not have my phone or internet access, and because of this, I find myself “cleansed” from the cell phone addiction when I start the school year.

Like me, many Parker students attend camps or travel during their summers to destinations where they either do not have their phone, or have limited to no cell service. This is usually seen as a frustrating or negative situation, but it could and should be seen as an opportunity to take a break from phones.

During my summers, I find myself not worrying about my phone. I’m not as scared of missing out, worried about missing the latest trend on social media, and I find myself feeling de-stressed, even while the start of school is approaching.

An example of this occurred this past summer. I was elected to be one of the editors of my camp yearbook called “Echoes,” and in the office used to create the book, there was a computer with full internet access.

The creation process did not fully begin until the second week at camp, and since I had already been off of my phone for a week, I was not tempted to log into my social media accounts on the computer. I was fully able to enjoy my time creating the yearbook and at camp for this reason.

Being off of our phones is extremely beneficial to our mental health and our overall well being. By getting rid of our phones, we learn to appreciate conversation and are able to strengthen relationships. We become more aware of our surroundings which, in some cases keeps us safe.

Being on our phones distracts us from more pressing tasks we have to complete in our lives (including school work), and some social media apps create negative judgemental platforms, that include hate comments and posts that alter a person’s appearance. According to various articles from “Time,” “The Huffington Post,” and “BBC,” social media has been proven to be linked to higher levels of anxiety, depression, loneliness and overall lowered self-esteem.

According to BBC, “Social media sites make more than half of users feel inadequate, according to a survey of 1,500 people by disability charity Scope, and half of 18- to 34-year-olds say it makes them feel unattractive.”

Even if a social media cleanse is for a brief period of time, it can make one happier and avoid the negative effects like having social anxiety and having lowered self-esteem. Although social media is harmful, phones altogether consume our entire lives as teenagers.

Apart from actual classes, completing work at home is difficult with the constant urge to check our phones, and we can be far more productive without having to take such frequent breaks. If we start in the summer by decreasing screen time, we will be able to create good habits that will likely carry with us as the school year begins. It can be difficult to avoid an overuse of phones with classes that are technology-based, but utilizing the summer to take a break can help us learn to balance our screen time once classes start.

I’m not going to lie and say that I don’t check my phone more often than I should, but after I come back from seven weeks without my phone, I feel less anxious and stressed about phone-related matters.

For example, during a sports practice or on a plane where I cannot be on my phone or social media, I am not worried about missed texts or snapchats, which is a mindset extremely beneficial for school.

Some may say that phones are important. They keep us connected and allow communication across the world. Especially during the summer, when everyone parts their own ways, people find that phones allow them to maintain friendships. However, while this may be true, being connected doesn’t always have its benefits as it creates even more of opportunity to get sucked into phones and not be present in the real world.

Not everyone may be able to unplug for the whole summer, but taking a break from social media or phones overall is easy and is something everyone should try. In the past, I have witnessed friends deleting social media apps for a month as a fun experiment to try and combat their phone addiction, and for the past seven years, I have been off of my phone for two months.

The result of both of these experiences was entirely positive, and at the end, everyone felt less anxious to constantly check social media, proving how an entire phone cleanse could have a huge impact on a person.

So whether it’s deleting social media apps for a week, or putting our phones in a different room for the day, if we choose to take a break from our phones, by the time school starts, we will be less stressed, happier, and thankful for the cleanse.