Ever find yourself endlessly doomscrolling? The Touch Grass Penn State club was actually made to stop that.

During his senior year, Tim Lakatos brought Touch Grass to Penn State to create a space for students to put down their phones and get outside.

The Touch Grass movement was inspired by the internet gaming phrase “touch grass,” a way of telling someone to step away from their screen and go outside. Online creators like Anthony Poe, John Chungus, and others turned the idea into events that encouraged people to meet up and get outside.

When Lakatos saw that college students could bring Touch Grass to their own campuses, he decided to give it a try.

“I wanted it to be a new third space for students to connect,” Lakatos said. “We had a snowball fight during that huge snowstorm, and we collaborated with Sunny State to create sidewalk chalk drawings with positive messages.”

Lakatos described Touch Grass as “a nationwide student-led movement based around creating moments for Penn State students to connect with each other over a somewhat silly and low barrier of entry activity.”

Touch Grass centered on four main ideas: connection, movement, light, and nourishment.

For Lakatos, the goal was never simply to tell students to stop using their phones. It was about giving them something better to do.

As a computer science major, Lakatos was particularly aware of how social media platforms are designed to keep people scrolling.

“I’m very in tune with all the tactics that are used for keeping people addicted to phones,” he said. “I think it can be used for good, if you just look in the right places.”

Instead of only advertising Touch Grass events, Lakatos used the account to promote free activities happening all around Penn State. Because he had joined so many clubs himself, he could share events from organizations like ballroom open nights.

Ironically, Touch Grass’ biggest challenge was finding people willing to run a social media account devoted to getting people off social media.

“The people who love the idea are people who aren’t on their phones already,” Lakatos said.

Lakatos created a GroupMe for people who were already less active on social media, but he struggled to find someone willing to take over the organization after graduation.

For Lakatos, the most important part of Touch Grass is creating low-pressure opportunities for students to connect.

“I think it really is important for people to have more third spaces,” he said. “Just silly little events of, like, ‘Oh, let’s go cloud watching,’ or ‘Let’s make ice cream in the snow as our cooling agent.’ Things like that. Just random, walking by, to meet some new people.”

One of his favorite memories came from a tree-hugging event in the middle of winter.

While Lakatos encouraged participation, one student became deeply invested in the experience. He took off his shoes and spent time connecting with the tree and the ground.

Lakatos said the interaction stood out because the student fully embraced something that might initially seem silly.

“He was super into it,” Lakatos said. “And I think that’s what Touch Grass is all about, just getting people to do something silly that they may have been too scared to do before.”

For someone who feels constantly attached to their phone, Lakatos didn’t recommend giving it up completely.

“You don’t have to go cold turkey on it,” he said. “You obviously need a phone these days.”

Instead, he encourages people to find a reason to step outside and try something new.

“Having an excuse to go outside, and taking that leap, is super important,” he said. “I’m very passionate about just doing the thing, saying yes. Because you’ll have a good story, worst case.”

For students interested in taking over Touch Grass, Lakatos said the main responsibilities would be inspiring students to come out to events they organize, such as cloud watching, hikes, yoga, or “anything as an excuse to get students touching grass together.”

The person taking over could also promote other free campus events through videos.

“No experience required,” Lakatos said. “It’s more about the vibe than anything, so if they are even slightly interested, they can message me and ask questions!”

For students interested in getting involved with Touch Grass at Penn State or taking over the account, Lakatos says the easiest way to reach him is through the organization’s Instagram account: @touchgrasspsu.