Day of Silent Social Media: Think you can turn it off?

Two Minneapolis high school students say it's time to disconnect with technology and reconnect with people. They're working on a research project called "Day of Silent Social Media" to see what it would be like if people would turn it off even for just one day.

Stephanie Krause is a freshman at South High School in Minneapolis. She and a classmate are going to mark May 20 as the day to power down, but of course, the best way to get word out about going dark is through their website and Facebook page.

"I am my own reason for starting this Day of Silent Social Media because I noticed myself spending a lot of time online," Stephanie said. "The project is a ripple effect project which means it starts with something small in your school and then spreads to your community then possibly the state and globally trying to change something in the world."

According to a Global Web Index survey, the average person has 5 social media accounts and spends about 1 hour and 40 minutes every day managing them. Stephanie believes teens may spend as much as three times that amount on social media.

For those who do join her, old-fashioned communication awaits.

"I kind of want people to realize they can still connect with people outside of social media, still say hi to your neighbors or go to the store and not have headphones in," she said.