“Living with a smartphone is like living with a Frodo’s ring in your pocket, and the more addictions we crave through it, the stronger the pull, and the heavier the burden becomes,” Justin Schneir told CNA in an email.
“Humanality really is the solution,” Laubacher explained. “We’re a movement that’s trying to cultivate more human interaction, and what we’re calling ‘human flourishing.’”
Addicted to tech? Join the club
“At the heart of our tech addictions is a legitimate desire for connection,” Hope Schneir told CNA. “Many young people want to move toward a more unplugged lifestyle, but they are afraid to do it alone.”
Humanality now has clubs on six different Catholic college campuses and provides resources for seminarians.
“Young people, at this point, are aware of the detriment because they’re experiencing it,” Laubacher added. “They’re looking for a group of people to do this together.”
Humanality clubs on college campuses promote a variety of “levels” that students can commit to — for example, with “Monk Mode” a student commits to no cellphone at all, relying instead on campus wifi, a laptop, and analog alarm clocks. In the more practical “Rebel Mode,” students use light phones to get off of their smartphones, making their less-accessible laptops their primary mode of digital communication.
Monthly meetings help keep students on track while building the in-person community that technology has sifted out of our culture. Speakers, phone-free hikes, campfire nights, and an end-of-the-year concert all help students experience life without phones.
“By establishing communities of people journeying together toward a more human, free lifestyle, we can inspire and embolden young people and families to live more human and free lives, engaging with reality and creation that God himself declared good,” Hope told CNA.
Humanality also helps students build a “digital plan of life” for the final meeting of the school year, giving students a framework for how they’ll interact with technology once they leave college.
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In addition to clubs, Humanality has a variety of ways to reach students and help them build a healthy relationship with technology.
At a seminary in Denver, the organization provided 14 seminarians with light phones — Kindle-esque phones that are solely functional, with no social media or bright colors — as well as analog alarm clocks and GPS for their cars.
“I really think humanality is a way of life, and we’re going to be helping people heal in many different ways,” Laubacher said. “But it’s really discovering, ‘What does it mean to be human and how do we really flourish?’”
Humanality is for humans
Humanality is for all — religious or not, Laubacher said. While secular colleges have reached out to Humanality, the organization’s next steps include going to high schools and K–8 schools to help the next generation achieve a healthy relationship with technology.
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