When Seán Killingsworth was a 15-year-old sophomore in high school, the pressures of social media weighed on him. Worrying about his self-image and upholding conversations through texting wasn’t adding to his inner peace.
He thought deleting his social media would be a good fix, but decided that switching from a smartphone to a flip phone would be a more effective method. He’s been smartphone-free since then — minus a few relapses along the way.
“Well, it’s tucked away in my closet, so it exists. But it’s not being used,” Killingsworth said.
Now 22, Killingsworth said he no longer feels those social pressures. He aims to spread that care-free feeling through the Reconnect Movement — a network of clubs for meeting people without phones — which will soon arrive at Simpson College in Indianola.
“People are able to have fun and not worry about what they look like, not worry about having a picture taken or having to curate themselves or their image,” Killingsworth said. “They’re just in the moment, and it’s an experience that our generation has very rarely had.”
More: These college kids are swearing off smartphones. It’s sparking a movement
The evolution of the Reconnect Movement
Hailing from Orlando, Florida, Killingsworth started hosting phone-free events during his senior year of high school in what he called “a solution that didn’t require anyone to change their habits with their phones.” Amid the creation, he made the intentional decision to revert back to a smartphone and use it as a promotion tool, understanding that his target audience are the people using their phones but may be fed up with them.
Pleased with the results, Killingsworth brought the idea with him to college at the University of Central Florida, where he officially named it the Reconnect Movement.
According to the website, events can include listening to music, hiking, painting, ridiculous debates (mountain vs beach? caveman vs. astronaut?), yoga, “side quest day,” “vibe day,” a thrift swap, or just hanging and talking. Board games may come out, or Frisbees, or hula hoops. And people just talk.
A group photo of the University of Central Florida’s Reconnect Movement chapter.
Though Killingsworth eventually expanded locally to the University of Florida and Rollins College, the student-led movement began to catch national attention.
Several colleges are reaching out to schedule Reconnect in their area. Killingsworth confirmed Simpson College in Indianola as the next college destination this fall.
Jack Simons, who counsels first-generation college students at Simpson, reached out to get the movement started there.
“My goal is to blow up Reconnect at Simpson so that all schools around us start doing it,” Simons, who has led conversations on campus about healthy screen time and phone use at schools.
The Reconnect Movement was featured on several national platforms including USA TODAY, Business Insider, and TIME Magazine. Florida cities Tampa and Orlando, along with New York City, will be the first cities to receive a Reconnect chapter.
“Simpson is one of many though. I mean, since a couple of different articles have come out, we’ve had a little bit more buzz,” Killingsworth said. “So we’ve got a wait list that’s growing, and we’re looking to create a lot of new chapters.”
The bigger picture
The Netflix documentary “Social Dilemma” shined a light on the negative psychological effects of social media. In Killingsworth’s eyes, it took his previous view of social media and enhanced it.
Since getting off his smartphone, he quickly realized how addictive social media was made to be. It’s created what he calls a “social wasteland” — when everyone in a public setting is scrolling on their phones in silence instead of socializing with each other in the room.
And Killingsworth having no access to social media only amplifies those feelings.
“It’s this sense that has been created in this literal environment that has been created where there’s no way to have a social life without technology,” he said. “And so that, I think, is largely what’s driving everyone to be constantly on their phones. Because what are you supposed to do, not have a phone and just not have friends?”
Simons feels the same way. He was a teacher at Lincoln High School in Des Moines for 12 years before he transitioned to Simpson College in 2023. The negative effects of social media at both schools were evident. He saw Reconnect as a golden opportunity to highlight those issues and gathered a 17-person team he calls the Reconnect Task Force to help set the event up.
“A lot of people weren’t ready to have that conversation, but I was,” Simons said. “What if we start talking about the damage we’re doing to ourselves? If we get more parents involved in these conversations, we can do a lot more.”
As a father of two daughters, Simons is concerned about his children, and he knows he’s not the only parent that feels that way. So along with Reconnect, he plans to start parent book clubs at Moore Elementary School and Hillis Elementary School to talk about these issues starting this fall.
“We can fix it. Me and Sean believe it can be fixed,” he said.
Reconnect has gone from a way to build genuine connections locally to a serviceable event on the rise. When Killingsworth started having the phone-free events, he never aimed to reach these heights.
“It’s not about creating something that is so special to me. It’s about pulling back, or pushing back, the toxic dynamics that currently exist in all of our spaces,” Killingsworth said. “Pushing those aside for a few hours and creating an organic experience that’s more natural, that’s more enjoyable, that’s easier to have.
“I saw the potential for how many people were interested in it. From the start, I decided I was going all-in. So the goal is to create this, and I’m not going to stop until I see what I want created in the world.”
Those interested in learning more about Simpson College’s Reconnect Movement or the parent book clubs can contact jack.simons@simpson.edu.
Chris Meglio is a reporter for the Register. Reach him at cmeglio@gannett.com or on X @chris_meglio.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Colege kids are ditching smartphones. The movement is coming to Iowa.