Stay focused on books without check your phone every five minutes has almost become an impossible mission. Notifications, social networks, messages and videos continually interrupt studying, fragmenting attention and increasing stress and mental fatigue. Because of this the University of Naples Federico II has decided to tackle the problem with an original project that focuses entirely on digital wellbeing. The initiative is called #UniNADigitalWellbeing and revolves around LockBoxan application designed to help students voluntarily limit distractions during sessions study. But the real peculiarity is another: the more time you spend offline, the more they accumulate rewards concrete to use in real life.
How LockBox works: three modes
The mechanism is simple but designed to transform concentration into a sort of personal challenge. Students download the app, choose which applications to block and start a “logout” session. From that moment, the time spent away from digital distractions generates a special virtual currency. There are three modes available. The most rigid is the Hard Modewhich only leaves active calls and SMS and allows you to get 60 coins per hour. Then there is the Music Modedesigned for those who study listening musicwhich assigns 50 coins. Finally, there is Easy Modemore flexible, allowing you to choose manually which apps to darken keeping useful tools such as dictionaries or calculators active.
From books to the gym: the rewards become real
Virtual coins don’t just remain numbers on the screen. Thanks to the partners involved in the project, they can be converted into gym memberships, cinema tickets, university books, cultural events, trips and experiences. The idea is to encourage not only productivity, but also social and cultural activities far from continuous hyperconnection.
A certification that ends up in the curriculum
The project also introduces a particularly interesting element for the students’ professional future. Threshold exceeded 1,500 coinsequivalent to approximately 25 hours of study without distractions, it is possible to obtain theOpen Badge Digital Wellbeing released by the Bestr platform. This digital badge can be included in your CV or online professional profiles and certifies skills that are increasingly in demand by companies today: self-discipline, time management, ability to concentrate and conscious use of technology.
The rector Matteo Lorito explained that this is not the objective demonize smartphones and digital tools, but help students develop a more balanced relationship with technology. The real challenge, according to the university, is not to turn off the phone by force, but to learn to choose when to do it. In an increasingly connected university, the Federico II project thus tries to overturn the dominant logic: for once, it is not the time spent online that makes the difference, but the time spent truly focused on the reality that surrounds us.
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