Boarding school limits phone use to one hour a day

Students at Bjergsnæs Efterskole, a boarding school near Viborg, use their mobile phones for just one hour a day throughout the school year, DR reports. The students say the benefits of spending more time together outweigh missing their phones.

“It is completely fine, because there is always so much happening and the programme is very packed, so you do not really think about it,” said student Oliver Korsholm Rosenkvist.

Students can collect their phones at 6.45pm and must hand them back at 7.45pm.

Rule intended to strengthen community

The restricted phone access is now in its third year. The school introduced the rule to strengthen relationships among the students.

Although they sometimes miss their phones, students support the policy because it encourages them to spend more time together.

“There are mostly advantages to not having the phone, because that is how we become closer to one another. We are all here to attend a boarding school, and the best way to do that is by looking each other in the eye and spending time together,” said student Anna Timm Seiding.

Missing their phones is particularly noticeable in the evening, the students say, but they consider it a small price to pay for a stronger community.

Computers do not replace phones

The school management says it is pleased that the vast majority of students follow the phone rules.

Asked whether students simply use their computers to access social media instead, Solveig Bank, the school’s educational manager, said they do not.

“They do not just sit in their rooms with their computers instead, because they want to go out and spend time with someone,” she said.

The students agreed.

“We only use the computer briefly in the evening, when we are lying in our rooms before bedtime,” Oliver Korsholm Rosenkvist said.