According to the Columbus Dispatch, a group of industrial design students at the Columbus College of Art & Design (CCAD) are working on "a multi-semester project to examine the impact of technology on mental health." As part of a related student-led CCAD initiative, all students were asked to avoid their smartphones and the internet for a single day, and write thoughts they would have posted to social media on a Post-It note instead.

This Unplugged Day was apparently easy for some, but not others:

"It's a hard test," junior advertising and graphic design major Amyia Chea said of steering clear of technology.

"It's hard because social media is important. It keeps me up-to-date, and I like to post stuff on it," said the 20-year-old from the Northeast Side.

Social media also is a bit of a necessity for art students, some CCAD students said Wednesday. Junior animation major Mackenzie Bigley tends to stray from social media, but she said she recently set a goal of being more active on Instagram to promote her art. She was perfectly OK taking a day to unplug.
"I have it for art reasons and that's it. I don't enjoy it," said the 20-year-old from Pittsburgh, adding, "It's definitely hard not to compare yourself to others."

"This makes a lot of sense, to sort of bring awareness about the negative effects of it," Bigley said of the exercise.

If you're an ID student at CCAD, please keep us posted on this ongoing project.