Student survives nine hours without using mobile

Southwest University in China is tackling students concentration problem by setting up a reading room that barres students from taking their mobile phones with them during their studies.

Reportedly a student named Hu Xiaopeng participating in the campaign studied 530 minutes without using his mobile phone even once while some couldn't resist the temptation to go to their mobiles early.

"It's bad to keep mobile phone with you when you are reading or studying," said Hu.

Another student Liu, a mobile game addict, gave up the challenge within 20 minutes.

"It's very difficult for me to study without my phone. This activity really tests one's self-control," said Liu.

"I want to focus on studies, but I always want to see whether someone has sent me a text message on WeChat," said a girl who repeatedly went out of the room to check her mobile.

The room provides students the facility to keep their phones in designated bags with numbers on them. The staff members will tell the students in case of important call but will ignore unknown calls or text messages.

"Having seen many students use their mobile phones in the library, a habit that shortens their study time and negatively impacts their learning, we decided to open this reading room," said Zhang Shuran, the person responsible for the project at the university.

A study on young people found that 60% reported that they felt very agitated when they could not access their phone.

Another study found that each time an office worker was distracted, it took them up to an average of 25 minutes to refocus on the original task.