A woman who stopped using screens for a month said it helped her define 'what I really like,' but her husband found living without Instagram to be 'too much'

• French documentary maker BrutX conducted a month-long experiment with six volunteers.
• They were challenged to live without using any screen, including smartphones and TVs, for a month.

Is it possible to live without a smartphone or television now that such devices have become integral parts of many people's lives?

That's what a journalist sought to find out in a TV documentary released last year on a French streaming platform called BrutX.

Tarik Khaldi found six volunteers to take part in an experiment called "Privés d'écrans," or "Deprived of Screens," and asked them to live for a month without using any device or television.

Two couples and two sisters participated in the experiment, although the sisters, aged 15 and 10, only did so for a week. A neuroscience expert Albert Moukheiber, said in the documentary that screens make people become "sedentary."

One of the couples, Cheikh and Yaaba, both 28 and living in Paris, said screens were a big part of their life, and Cheikh admitted to being addicted to Instagram.

On the first day of the experiment, his partner Yaaba worried about the silence brought about without a television. That prompted them to buy a record player.

On day four, Yaaba said her husband was "depressed," as Cheikh could be seen lying on their sofa. "I feel things, but I don't what," he said. "I know something's happening in my body."

"I feel a void, clearly," Cheikh said. "I don't have Instagram, or anything else. It's too much. I didn't sign for that."

During the experiment, Cheikh realized that he wouldn't be able see what his relatives and friends were doing without access to their Instagram posts and stories.

His mother, who suggested he take part in the experiment, told him that social media gave people the impression of living "a reality that isn't real."

A fortnight into the experiment, Yaaba told a producer: "All this time without screens helped me define what I really like, what drives me, and thrills me."

Cheikh revealed that not being constantly focused on a smartphone had allowed him to hear his own thoughts.

The couple traveled to Venice, Italy, but resorted to downloading navigation apps when they struggled to find their way around.

Moukheiber said smartphones have allowed what he described as "instantaneity." Removing that meant people weren't "happy," he added.

Days after their trip to Italy, Cheikh had another slip-up and went on Instagram while at work, but said it wasn't a "moment of weakness." The neuroscience expert said the decision was "bath faith," but that "very few things are solely down to someone's willingness."

At the end of the experiment, Cheikh vowed not to download Instagram again – but it wasn't clear whether he would be able to maintain his resolve.