A new Student Government Association campaign has students ditching their phones for face-to-face conversations. 

Hang Up to Hang Out urges students to stay off their phones when walking around campus and instead engage in more active community building.

Rachel Hoffman, co-chair of the campaign, said she thinks it sends a great message to the student body.

“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been walking to class and I saw one of my friends but they completely ignored me because their head was buried in their phone,” Hoffman said.

“Don’t get me wrong, I love technology, but I just thought the campaign’s message of not needing to be connected 24/7 was an idea that I could get on board with.”

The idea for the SGA campaign came after a member of the administration became frustrated seeing students completely engrossed in their phones while walking around campus.

This week, volunteers set up a table outside the Mary Couts Burnett Library and asked students to sign a pledge saying they would stay off their phones during the day. Students who signed the pledge received buttons and assorted prizes. The campaign generated positive feedback, according to volunteers.

“Technology can be extremely beneficial if used in the right context; however, college students have prioritized technology over human interactions, and it is affecting our ability to comfortably interact with each other,” sophomore business major Ben Thompson said.

In addition to inhibiting face-to-face interactions, supporters of the pledge believe technology is a distraction both in and out of class.

“People are often having many conversations at once,” sophomore business major Jack Thompson said. “Many students are on their phones or computers while simultaneously attempting to hold a conversation with someone they are physically with.”

Volunteers for the Hang Up to Hang Out campaign have high hopes for the way technology is used in social settings in the future.

“I hope the sentiments of the campaign extend past just the one day,” Hoffman said. “I hope it gets people to realize just how much we use our phones during the day and how beneficial it can be to disconnect for a little while. I just hope the campaign opens some eyes to the issue.”