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Vitamin Water will pay you big bucks to give up your phone for a year

We'll find out if $100,000 and a lie-detector test can keep one person from touching any smartphone for 12 months.

Amanda Kooser
Freelance writer Amanda C. Kooser covers gadgets and tech news with a twist for CNET. When not wallowing in weird gear and iPad apps for cats, she can be found tinkering with her 1956 DeSoto.
Amanda Kooser
2 min read
vitaminwater

Maybe this cold bottle of Vitamin Water will distract you from your smartphone separation anxiety.

Coca-Cola Company

One year, a full 365 days. No smartphone. No tablet. No using other people's smartphones. Does that sound doable? If so, you might want to enter Vitamin Water's $100,000 #NoPhoneForAYear contest.

The Coca-Cola Company drink brand will give one US resident a shot at kicking a smartphone addiction cold turkey, but the requirements are sure to give tech-hungry people the cold sweats.

Potential contestants need to enter by posting a photo to Twitter or Instagram telling Vitamin Water why they need a break from their smartphones. Entries will be judged based on creativity, brand relevance, humor and quality. And don't mention Gatorade, or that will get you disqualified. Hopefuls have until Jan. 8 to enter.

Vitamin Water is serious about the potential winner staying off of smartphones. "This means you may not physically operate, caress, hug or otherwise be physically affectionate with anyone's smartphone," it says. Laptops, desktops and smart home assistants are okay, though. 

The contestant won't be without a phone. Vitamin Water will provide a 1996-era cell phone and a monthly plan to handle voice communication needs. The smartphone-less guinea pig will also have to submit to a lie-detector test at the end of the "scroll free for a year" contest period, so don't even think about sneaking off for some quality time with your friend's iPhone .

Contest hopefuls on Twitter are dreaming about what they would do for a year. Some say they will go out in nature while others say they would spend more time with their kids. 

While only one person will be chosen for the Vitamin Water challenge, it gives us something to think about. Maybe we should put down our phones, go for a hike and spend more time with family even without a financial incentive on the line.

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