A Freshers' Guide to Not Losing Uni to Your Phone
Freshers' week is full of people on their phones because it's easier than saying hi. How to make friends offline, keep lectures phone-free, beat the FOMO.
Freshers’ week: hundreds of new people, and everyone’s on their phone because it’s easier than saying hi. Here’s how to make the most of uni without losing it to a screen.
Week one
- Leave your phone in your pocket in the kitchen. That’s where flatmate friendships start.
- Say yes to things. Society taster sessions, flat dinners, the slightly weird social.
- Don’t watch the night out through your story. Be in it.
Making it stick
- Phone-free lectures. Notifications off, phone in your bag. Your future exam self will thank you.
- Set a bedtime for your phone. Late-night scrolling plus 9am lectures is a rough combo. (How to block apps at bedtime.)
- Find your study crew and do phone-free sessions together.
The FOMO thing
It can feel like if you’re not on your phone, you’ll miss something. But the stuff worth being at is happening in person. Group chats will still be there in an hour.
Make it a flat thing
Flatmates make the perfect accountability group. Agree a couple of house rules or set up a Snitch group: up to 5 of you share a daily screen time pot, there’s a Rot Day once a month for hungover Sundays, and groups that hit their goals unlock rewards for things to do offline together.