What happened when 10 teens gave up their smartphones?

Ruby dreams of becoming an actor. She says she spends way too much time on her phone, and often ignores her parents while scrolling through TikTok.

Midway through the experiment, I visit her family.

When I arrive, the 16-year-old is putting the finishing touches to her make-up before she heads to college.

Her father checks she has her work uniform in her bag and then Ruby’s mother drives us to the tram stop.

Ruby acknowledges that having a break from her smartphone ​​“has opened up more conversation” with her parents – and her mum, Emma, agrees the detox is having a positive impact on her daughter’s behaviour.

“Ruby is pretty addicted to her phone, so it just gives her a chance to see what it was like when I was a teenager,” says Emma.

“She’s talking more and she’s going to bed earlier. It’s a nice break.”

As we approach the barriers at the station, we can see the tram already pulling away.

Usually, Ruby would check an app on her phone to find out when the next tram will arrive. Reading timetables on the display board at a tram stop is not something this generation does.

“Without a phone, I’ve got no way of knowing,” she says.

While we wait for the next tram, Ruby tells me about her part-time job at a centre for group Nerf games. She works a couple of times a week – but isn’t entirely sure if she has a shift later today, or how long it will be.

Her manager has given her the office telephone number in case she needs to clarify her hours – but she feels “a bit nervous” about calling.

“It shows you on the app what shift you’re doing, but I don’t know that now,” explains Ruby. “I never call work, ever.”

She pays for her tram ticket – her bank card‘s getting some rare use without access to her smartphone wallet – and we set off on the hour-long journey.