A pilot program at Franciscan University of Steubenville in Ohio is putting God, faith and newly forged connections first in an extraordinary way for today's times — by offering scholarships to students who set aside their smartphones in order to better connect with prayer, religion and each other.
During an appearance on "Fox & Friends Weekend" on Sunday morning, Lauren Green, chief religion correspondent for Fox News Channel, shared news of the ongoing experiment in "unplugged scholarships" at the Catholic college in Steubenville, Ohio.
"This is really an amazing thing," said Green.
Over the last year, there's been "a pilot program," she said. "A bunch of alumni got together and said, ‘We're going to offer these scholarships to students who will ditch their smartphones — not for a semester, not for a year, but for the entire four years that they're at Franciscan University.'"
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She said that as part of the faith-focused pilot program, 30 students receive tuition assistance.
"But 50 more students who did not receive assistance," she said, also got rid of their phones.
"And they formed a group called Humans Engaging Reality," added Green.
And yes, the students are on "the honor code — the honor system," regarding the ditching of their smartphones during this time period.
On that point, one of the students, said Green, related a funny story that came about as a result of this program.
The student was in an airport — and without the smartphone in hand, "actually had to ask a person for directions," Green shared.
She also commented on the depression rate among the online generation and how it's connected to this college experiment.
"Thirty percent of 15-34-year-olds," she said, have been diagnosed with depression.
However, after one young woman who had been diagnosed with depression ditched her smartphone, "it went away."
Franciscan University of Steubenville is a Catholic college in Ohio.
On its website, it declares, "Franciscan University of Steubenville is no ordinary university, and a Franciscan education is no ordinary education. Rather, it’s an education as rigorous and demanding as it is faithful — an education that challenges you intellectually, forms you professionally, and feeds you spiritually."
The students "are finding that they have this different kind of life because they don't have a smartphone," said Green about the pilot program.
She noted that so many kids today are on social media so regularly — and yet it's more like "social isolation," as another person pointed out.
Franciscan University is hoping to attain partners in this new program, said Green.
"They don't want to be the only ones," she said.
People "are meant to have relationships with each other and with God. And when you ditch your smartphone, that encourages that kind of relationship — not only for the students at Franciscan, but for the world. They're going to change the world."
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She also said, "Remember [all the] stories about indoctrination on college campuses? They're trying to turn that around."
She also noted, in regard to the push for artificial intelligence today, "We're made to have relationships with each other. You can't have that with artificial intelligence. That's just not happening."
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She also referenced the data that's available today about how smartphones have been affecting the developing brains of those who are "online constantly."
To learn more, watch the video at the top of this article, or click here to access it.
