August • Savonlinna, Finland

Mobile Phone Throwing

Started in 2000, the Mobile Phone Throwing World Championships is a sport that combines digital frustration with athletic skill. There are categories for distance and freestyle (where you are judged on aesthetics). Today we're debating the digital detox—is throwing your phone the ultimate way to reclaim your life from the internet? We explore our love-Hate relationship with technology.

Speaking Discussion

Have you ever been so frustrated with your phone that you wanted to throw it?
Is technology addiction the biggest problem of the 21st century?
Why do we find it so satisfying to watch something expensive be destroyed?
If you lived without a smartphone for one month, would you be happier or stressed?
Should we recycle our phones or use them for sport?

Activity 1: The Detox Coach

You are a "Digital Detox Coach". Convince a teenager to throw their phone (for sport) using the word "Catharsis".

Activity 2: Rapid Fire Debate

Justify your answer in 30 seconds:

"The world was better before smartphones."
"Throwing a phone is the best way to deal with stress."
"Finland has too much free time."

Key Vocabulary

FrustrationThe feeling of being upset or annoyed as a result of being unable to change or achieve something.
CatharsisThe process of releasing, and thereby providing relief from, strong or repressed emotions.
DetoxA process or period of time in which one abstains from or rids the body of toxic substances.
AerodynamicsThe study of the properties of moving air and the interaction between air and solid bodies.
ObsolescenceThe process of becoming obsolete or outdated and no longer used.

Fluency Catalyst

When you are finished with something and want to get rid of it, say: "I am going to toss it in the bin."

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