From September 14-20, Cornell students, faculty, and staff are invited to go off-line, off-screen, and off-tech to participate in Cornell Unplugged 2026.
The initiative encourages participants to explore how mindful technology use can support personal well-being and meaningful connection, more human-centered forms of teaching, and more thoughtful and sustainable modes of computing and technology use. Throughout the week, participants are encouraged to unplug from phones, computers, televisions, and other electronic devices to the greatest extent possible. Whether participants choose to unplug for a day, an hour, or an evening, every effort counts.
The initiative, spearheaded by Cornell's Sustainable Computing Workgroup, encourages participants to reflect on how much time they spend connected to technology, and to bring awareness to three key issues:
1) How excessive technology use can contribute to feelings of disconnection and social isolation
2) How unplugging can encourage thoughtful, innovative and human-centered forms of teaching and learning
3) How indiscriminate technology use can challenge sustainability goals and raise the environmental costs of computing and AI.
Wondering how to unplug?
If you are interested in connecting with community, consider putting away devices during meals, holding in-person meetups and meetings, leaving your phone at home, or turning off social media notifications and joining in a wide range of in-person and off-line activities that week.
If you are interested in exploring tech-free or tech-lite learning, consider integrating hands-on activities in the classroom, taking learning beyond the classroom, leaving the laptop at home, or leaning into office hours (spoiler alert: professors are humans too).
Visit Unplug and Connect for more ideas about how to unplug.
Did you know??
• Using a cellphone for one hour generates roughly 50 to 170 grams of CO₂ equivalents. This variation depends on what you are doing, i.e., charging, calling, browsing, streaming.
• About 80-85% of your phone's lifetime carbon footprint is tied to its production, due to mining raw materials and manufacturing. The most sustainable cell phone is the one you keep one year longer instead of buying a new one.
• Streaming high-definition video uses much more network energy compared to browsing.
• Using Wi-Fi generally requires less network transmission energy than connecting via 4G or 5G cellular networks.
Join us September 14-20, 2026 to Unplug and Connect! Visit the Unplug and Connect and Sustainable Computing webpages to learn more.