Rogers announced Saturday the launch of The 5.2 Project, a documentary-style video that highlights the issue of excessive screen time among youth.
Part of Rogers’s five-year, $50-million Screen Break initiative, The 5.2 Project is named for the 5.2 hours on average that tweens and teens spend on their phones every day, according to a recent study commissioned by Rogers.
As part of the project, a documentary filmmaker followed teens from three Canadian families, capturing daily routines including their phone use. Cameras were placed throughout each family’s home and the film director also followed the teens using a handheld camera. Each teen’s screen time was packaged in 5.2 hours of raw footage, which was watched and reacted to by their parents while being filmed. The parents were also interviewed before and after watching the footage of their child on their phone.
The participating youth included a 17-year-old who spent 6.21 hours on her phone, a 15-year-old who spent 8.22 hours on his device, and a 16-year-old who spent 13.15 hours on her device.
“We know the average Canadian teen is spending too much time on their phone, but seeing the reality of those habits throughout a typical day is truly eye-opening,” said Sarah Zupnik, Rogers Screen Break program director, in a Rogers press release. “Our goal is to help Canadian youth develop healthier relationships with their devices and The 5.2 Project is about helping families tackle this issue.”
“Watching these teens move through their day with a phone constantly in hand, or within arm’s reach, brought this issue into focus for me,” said Lucas Dabrowski, director of The 5.2 Project, in a statement. “My hope is this film gives families a starting point for healthy conversations about how screens shape their everyday experiences. It also sparked some self-reflection about my own relationship with technology and screen time.”
Screenshot from The 5.2 Project video
