Three students at Rosborg Gymnasium in Vejle produced a short film entitled ‘Which Side Are You On?’ that they hope will prod Danes to put down their phones and engage in life.
The split-screen film shows everyday scenarios in which one half of the screen shows people absorbed in their smartphones while the other shows them being present in the situation and enjoying one another’s company.
Amalie Bonde, a third-year upper secondary student from the town of Give, told TV2 News that smartphones are destroying human interaction.
“We are constantly pulling out our phones. Especially if you’re in an awkward situation, you just look at your phone in order to avoid it,” she said.
“We can see that it is a problem for everyone and we think it is important to remind people that it is a problem that they can actually do something about,” she continued.
The students produced the film for a class assignment but their message reached a much broader audience when broadcaster TV2 posted a version of the video to its Facebook page, where it amassed nearly 350,000 views in one day.
Jonas Borch Krag, another producer of the film, said he would like to see it strike a nerve.
“I hope that when people see it they will get the urge to put their phone away. Racking up a lot of views doesn’t mean anything if it doesn’t help the problem,” Krag told TV2.
His co-producer Bonde agreed.
“This is to draw attention to the fact that we have a choice. You don’t have to pull out your phone. It’s a choice we make, whether to pull out your phone or look up at what’s happening around us,” she said.
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