Will you be able to survive if the Internet and your devices were to simply disappear tomorrow?
Should such an event occur, it could possibly make us panic, given how reliant we are on our devices. And yet Singapore schools are already living through a mini Digital Detox!
The phone ban implemented at the start of 2026 has without doubt vastly affected students’ lives in schools, hoping to provide short term relief from digital distractions for them, and in the process, improve their limited attention spans. And so far, it seems to be having a positive effect, even from students’ perspectives.
“After the phone ban, we honestly started to connect with each other better, by playing sports during recess and talking to one another more,” a secondary school student we spoke to shared, citing that her school parade square is now installed with a tuft and sports equipment to engage students during their breaks.
As we slowly get accustomed to the phone ban, let us consider different ways to help students digitally detox, both during school and after. We will be sharing unique and fun activities various schools and institutions have engaged in that allow students to detach from the world of screens.
- NUS College engages in a Touch Grass Week where students and faculty participated in a ‘Zero Tech Challenge’ for 24 hours!
Through this exercise, students and faculty members compelled themselves to take a break from digital devices and engage more with the outside world. For 24 hours, both students and faculty attempted to not utilise screens – whether it being for work or for scrolling on social media.
- Commonwealth Secondary engaged in a Screen-Lite Weekend, promoting screen-free challenges and activities for students to partake in during the weekend!
For Safer Internet Week 2026, Commonwealth Secondary embarked in unique offline activities like, reading, playing board games, socialising with friends, to motivate students to unplug from their digital devices during the weekend.
- Orchid Park Secondary shared memorable highlights of students participating in more screen-free activities during recesses as a result of the phone ban during schooltime!
As the phone ban took effect, Orchid Park Secondary recorded its impact on its students, showcasing greater peer-to-peer interactions and increased participation in sports during recess.
- Ahmad Ibrahim Primary organised a Screen Healthy Weekend Activity to raise awareness amongst parents and students regarding healthy screen usage and managing screen time!
For Safer Internet Day, Ahmad Ibrahim Primary took it upon themselves to raise awareness of healthy digital usage for both parents and students. They shared various tips and tricks to inspire students to let go of their digital devices from time to time and participate more in no-screen hobbies during the weekends.
As a bonus, here are Kingmaker’s very own tips on creating meaningful and enriching activities to subtly nudge your students to digitally detox themselves!
1. Organise school-wide contests for offline activities
Schools can consider holding school-wide competitions to promote screen-free habits such as sports, writing and chess. For example, a Writing Sprint can be organised every term to encourage students to submit fiction or non-fiction pieces and win exciting prizes! This can help incite students to write more and improve their literary skills.
2. Integrate moments of offline learning during groupwork and discussions
For example, rather than always getting students to collaborate online for groupwork (such as using Google Suite tools), consider ‘old-school’ pen-and-paper discussions with flipcharts. The flipcharts can then be displayed physically in classrooms for students to facilitate sharing of ideas, reducing their reliance on digital devices to learn and communicate.
3. Curate digital detox spaces for students to partake in between lessons and after school!
Simple screen-free activities like crocheting or card games can provide mental health breaks for students to destress, whether it's during their breaks or while they’re waiting for their CCAs to start.
4. Customise offline games and challenges based on special occasions or festivals!
For example, the English Department from Ngee Ann Secondary had organised a Blind Date With A Book activity for Valentines’ Day, blending the season of love and the beauty of words together! By crafting such creative activities, it can make digital detox less mundane and dreary for students, making them more willing to see the importance of reducing their screen usage.
Digital devices will continue to be a cardinal aspect of our lives but let us try to maintain a healthy usage of our screens to prevent harmful addictions from ruling our lives!
