ESCAPED
ESCAPED DURING A CROSS-COUNTRY TRANSPORT.
TRANSPORT. THEY WERE CAPTURED AFTER MORE
THAN TWO WEEKS ON THE RENT AND
ARE ONCE AGAIN BEHIND BARS IN
TUCSON.
TUCSON.
TUCSON. >>> ONLY ON 12 NEWS, OUR
PHONES, TABLETS, LAPTOPS, TVs,
OUR WATCHES EVEN HAVE
COMPUTERS.
COMPUTERS. THEY ALL KEEP US TOGETHER IN
THE WORLD.
THE WORLD. >> BUT SOMETIMES CONSUME WAY
TOO MUCH OF OUR LIVES.
SO WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A FAMILY
GIVES UP ALL THEIR DIGITAL
DEVICES FOR 24 HOURS?
>> 12 NEWS'S WILLIAM PITTS PUTS
ONE FAMILY TO THE TEST WITH
OUR DIGITAL DETOX CHALLENGE.
♪
♪
♪ >>
♪ >> Reporter: WE LOVE OUR
PHONES.
PHONES.
PHONES. ACCORDING TO THE PEW RESEARCH
CENTER, WE SPENT FOUR HOURS
EVERY DAY ON THEM.
SOCIAL MEDIA, YOUTUBE, VIDEOS,
PHOTOS, INSTAGRAM.
PHOTOS, INSTAGRAM. THEY MAKE PHONE CALL TOO.
THEY KEEP US CONNECTED TO
EVERYTHING, BUT CAN ALSO BE A
LITTLE TOO CONSUMING, SO WHAT
HAPPENS WHEN WE GIVE IT ALL UP?
THIS IS DAMIEN NICHOLS.
THESE ARE DAMIEN'S TWO KIDS,
TWINS, BOTH HIGH SCHOOL
SENIORS, AND DAMIEN'S WIFE.
THEY ARE READY TO GIVE UP ALL
THEIR DEVICES FOR 24 HOURS.
WE WIRED UP THE HOUSE WITH
SECURITY CAMERAS.
SECURITY CAMERAS. THIS IS WHERE THE ENTIRE
DIGITAL LIVES ARE GOING, IN THE
BOX.
BOX.
BOX. AND
BOX. AND CONFISCATED EVERYTHING.
>> ONE PHONE, TUCSON.
>> Reporter: DO YOU WANT TO SAY
GOODBYE?
GOODBYE?
GOODBYE? OKAY, IT DOES THE WATCH.
THERE YOU GO.
THERE'S MORE COMING?
THE CANDLE CANS.
DEVICE FREE.
DEVICE FREE. THAT'S A LOT OF STUFF.
>> Reporter: DID YOU KNOW YOU
HAD THAT MUCH TECHNOLOGY?
>> IT'S KIND OF SCARY WE HAVE
TO BE WITHOUT THAT FOR A WHOLE
DAY.
DAY.
DAY. >>
DAY. >> Reporter: DO.
DAMIANSVILLE IS TAKING THE
DIGITAL DETOX CATALANS, 24
HOURS OF THE GRAYRIDGE.
WHO'S NERVOUS?
WHO'S NERVOUS? WHO'S SCARED?
WHO'S SCARED? ALL OF YOU?
THIS IS GOING OVER THERE NEXT
TO THE CAMERA.
THE CAMERA IS ON MOTION ALERT,
SO I WILL KNOW IF ANYBODY CHEAT
AND POP IS A. YOU GUYS KNOW THE
RULES.
RULES.
RULES. THERE'S NO TVs, NO PHONES, NO
INTERNET, THERE IS NO
TECHNOLOGY OF ANY KIND.
WE ALSO HAVE CHALLENGES FOR YOU
GUYS.
GUYS.
GUYS. IN
GUYS. IN THE ENVELOPES, I WILL GIVE
YOU YOUR FIRST CHALLENGE
TOGETHER, AND I WILL GO PUT THE
BOX OVER THERE.
CHALLENGE ONE, MAKE DINNER AND
EAT TOGETHER.
EAT TOGETHER. >> OKAY.
>> OKAY.
>> OKAY. >> Reporter: WHEN WAS THE LAST
TIME YOU DID THAT?
>> BEEN A WHILE.
>> Reporter: PROBLEM NUMBER
ONE, NO PHONES TO LOOK UP HOW
TO COOK.
TO COOK.
TO COOK. PROBLEM NUMBER TWO?
>> I AM BORED.
IT'S BEEN LIKE TWO MINUTES.
>> THIS IS AWKWARD.
>> I WONDER WHAT'S HAPPENING IN
THE WORLD.
THE WORLD. >> Reporter: WITH THE
STIMULATING CONVERSATION, WE
LEAVE THE NICHOLS FAMILY TO THE
REST OF THEIR NIGHT.
EXCEPT DAMIEN DID NOT LAST AN
HOUR.
HOUR.
HOUR. >>
HOUR. >> HE WENT CRAZY.
>> HE GOT BORED VERY FAST.
>> AFTER AN HOUR, HE DEFINITELY
LOOKED IN THE BOX.
>> Reporter: OUR SECURITY
CHEMICAL GOING UP A DAY AND
BACK AGAIN AND AGAIN, TRY TO
GET A LOOK AT HIS PHONE.
AS THE WAR HOURS WENT ON, THE
REST OF THE FAMILY CAME LOOKING
TOO.
TOO.
TOO. WE
TOO. WE ARE BACK WITH THE NICHOLS
FAMILY AFTER A ROUGH NIGHT.
>> WE DID HAVE AN ALARM CLOCK,
SO WE HAD TO DIG AT AN OLD ONE
OUT OF THE CLOSET.
>> Reporter: CHALLENGE TO, PLAY
A BORDER CARD GAME.
>> I DON'T REMEMBER HOW TO PLAY
THIS GAME.
THIS GAME. >> WE DID A LOT OF SITTING
AROUND, STARING AT NOTHING.
THE KIDS WERE AT THE FOOTBALL
GAME.
GAME.
GAME. WE
GAME. WE COULD ATTRACT THEM, SO WE
DIDN'T KNOW WHERE THEY WERE, IF
THEY WERE SAFE, OR WHAT THEY
WERE DOING, SO THAT WAS
INTERESTING.
INTERESTING. HUNG OUT WITH THE DOG.
DID A LOT OF NOTHING LAST
NIGHT.
NIGHT.
NIGHT. THAT WAS PROBABLY THE TOUGHEST
SOUTH.
SOUTH.
SOUTH. WE
SOUTH. WE WENT OUT, HAD A COUPLE
DREAMS, WONDERED WHERE THE KIDS
ARE.
ARE.
ARE. >>
ARE. >> Reporter: DAMIEN AND HIS
WIFE USUALLY KNOW WHERE THE
KIDS ARE BY TRACKING THEM ON
THEIR PHONE.
THEIR PHONE. >> I NEED TO MOVE UP ONE.
>> Reporter: THE NICHOLS FAMILY
HAD THINGS TO DO THE REST OF
THE DAY, TRACK MEET, WORK, BUT
ALSO THERE WAS A LOT OF
DOWNTIME AND A LOT OF NAPTIME.
>> IT WAS JUST SO BORING.
JUST WHEN WE REALIZED HOW MUCH,
EVEN WHEN TVs IN THE BACK ONTO
YOUR PHONE.
YOUR PHONE. IN MY NOT BE ON IT ALL THE
TIME, BUT YOU LOOK AT IT EVERY
10, 20 SECONDS.
>> Reporter: 24 HOURS AFTER THE
DETOX STARTED, IT WAS ALMOST
OVER.
OVER.
OVER. >>
OVER. >> WHAT WAS THE HARDEST PART
ABOUT GIVING UP YOUR DEVICES?
>> I WAS SITTING THERE IN AN
OPEN FIELD, NO MUSIC TO LISTEN
TO, NOTHING TO SCROLL THROUGH,
NOTHING TO PLAY WITH.
BECAUSE YEAH, IT'S ON.
>> NOT BEING ABLE TO TRACK
THEM, KNOWING WHERE THEY ARE
AT, THAT WHOLE EMERGENCY PLAN,
SAFETY OF ED PIOTROWSKI NOT
BEING ABLE TO TEXT MY FRIENDS
AND FACE TIME, AND ALSO NOT
KNOWING MY SCHEDULE BECAUSE I
USE LIKE THE CALENDAR APP SO
MUCH IN A DAY.
>> Reporter: GIVE ME 30
SECONDS.
SECONDS.
SECONDS. FIRST THING YOU'RE GOING TO DO
ON YOUR PHONE WHEN YOU GET
THAT?
THAT?
THAT? >>
THAT? >> NORMAL TEXT MESSAGE APP.
TEXT.
TEXT.
TEXT. >>
TEXT. >> CALL MY BOSS.
>> Reporter: DEFINITELY TEXT.
FIVE, FOUR, THREE, TWO, ONE,
GO.
GO.
GO. SO
GO. SO THE NICHOLS FAMILY SURVIVED.
24 HOURS LATER AND A LOT OF
TALKING AND DOWNTIME, ARE THEY
GLAD THEY AGREED TO DO IT?
>> THAT WAS QUITE AN
EXPERIMENT.
EXPERIMENT. I'M GLAD WE DID IT.
I DON'T KNOW IF WE WOULD DO IT
AGAIN.
AGAIN.
AGAIN. >>
AGAIN. >> Reporter: IT WAS TOUGH FOR
THEM, BUT IT WOULD PROBABLY BE
TOUGH FOR ANYONE OF US.
EXPERTS SAY THERE ARE THREE
SECRETS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT
THE DEVICE DETOX THAT FIRST
COME OVER USING SCREENS CAN BE
BAD FOR YOUR SLEEP, AND EVEN
INCREASED ANXIETY, SO SOME
RECOMMENDATIONS.
RECOMMENDATIONS. LIMIT YOUR SCREEN TIME AFTER
DARK.
DARK.
DARK. TWO, TURN OFF THE VIBRATION FOR