Students sat in a circle to meditate in a social-media-free environment.
Phillips Academy’s Student Wellness Collaborative hosted the Happiness Project this week, an eight-day-long challenge encouraging daily guided meditations and a social media detox. The challenge concluded with a munch for participants on December 11.
While the Happiness Project has evolved since its inception two years ago, the intent of the project has remained the same: to improve concentration, mindfulness, and mental health. Margot Furman ’25, who oversaw the project, spoke to the central focus of the week, highlighting the benefits of participating in the challenge.
“I think a great takeaway is to be more intentional with how you are spending your time, as well as not having social media and trying to form more physical connections with people. All of our participants have been more aware of what they’re doing, and are able to spend more time being present,” said Furman.
Ashley Choi ’26, who participated in the challenge, talked about why she initially chose to join the challenge. She mentioned its positive effects on her day-to-day life, and how it improved her communication with those around her.
“I think before doing the project I didn’t realize consciously how much I relied on social media, and just how much time I was spending on it until I wasn’t able to use it… I think I’ve been spending time a lot more productively. My screen time went down by 52 percent, and I’ve been getting my work done earlier and sleeping earlier. Even when I’m hanging out with friends, I feel more present because I don’t have access to social media,” said Choi.
Eddie Lou ’24, who co-managed the event with Furman, talked about the social media aspect of the challenge, emphasizing how social media impacts people’s ability to be present. He explained how social media’s redundant information can distract from everyday life, and that while technology has significant roles in people’s daily lives, taking breaks and using technology in modernization are crucial to engaging with it healthily.
“I think that when you’re on social media, you’re not really paying attention to what is directly happening around you. You could be following this person you met from summer camp in eighth grade, and you don’t really care about their life but having that extra stimulus and extra information in your brain holds up space for what else you could be thinking about or observing. By giving that up, you are forced to pay attention and focus on what is directly impacting your life right now,” said Lou.
He continued, “Although technology can be nice for connecting with people across different distances, disconnecting and paying attention to what is directly around you and people that are directly around you can be really helpful for yourself as well.”
Fumi Kimura ’25, participating in his second Happiness Project, expressed his initial worries that removing social media from his life would negatively impact his relationships. After participating in the challenge, however, Kimura noted that his connection to his friends did not depend on being connected on social media.
“Another effect [of the Happiness Project] I noticed was that I thought social media was integral to my relationship with people around me, but in the end, I told them I was doing the Happiness Project, and it didn’t impair the relationship[s] I had with people. Nothing has changed that much, and it didn’t worsen my relationships as I expected. Social media wasn’t too much of an important thing between me and people,” said Kimura.
Kimura also highlighted the effects that the Happiness Project had on his daily life. He described how he had more freedom to pursue his interests in the absence of distractions.
“I’m more focused on my homework. I think I have more time to spend on hobbies and meaningful things. For me, that’s discovering new music and reading books… I was able to spend more time on meaningful things,” said Kimura
Lou expressed his hopes for the student body, pointing out the ways that students could raise their awareness of their actions. He stressed the importance of being present in day-to-day life in cultivating a more mindful perspective.
“It seems like a lot of the time the people are living their lives without thinking about what they’re doing and why they’re doing what they’re doing… By being able to pay attention to what is directly happening to you, hopefully, you can be happier… Try to look at people when you talk to them, listen to what they’re saying, and enjoy life right now,” said Lou.
