Bay Area techies ditch phones, tablets at ‘digital detox’ camp
By Christina Farr
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – (This June 19 story has been corrected to change the month from July to June in paragraph 14 and add dropped word ‘with’ in paragraph 4)
Tired of the social media treadmill and hoping to unplug for a couple days? Consider this fast-growing summer camp three hours outside of San Francisco, where the first ritual involves handing over your personal electronics to volunteers in white lab coats.
Camp Grounded, now in its second year, offers hyperconnected attendees a brief respite from the incessant noise of Facebook, Twitter and a plethora of other media relentlessly battling for their attention.
The rules of this “digital detox” camp are clear: No work talk, no alcohol, no first names or discussion of ages, and most importantly, no phones, computers, tablets or watches.
Co-founder Levi Felix, who goes by the nickname “Fidget Wigglesworth,” has stressed it is not just an experience for tech workers, although current and former Facebook Inc, Google Inc and Microsoft Corp employees were represented. This year, campers ranged from hipster college grads to recent retirees, he said in an interview with Reuters at the Navarro, California camp.
The project has gained rapid popularity, reflecting a growing need to unwind from the stresses associated with the Bay Area’s tech boom. From just one weekend in the summer of 2013, this year’s has grown to three consecutive weekends with several hundred people attending each session.
https://news.yahoo.com/bay-area-techies-ditch-phones-tablets-digital-detox-175658009–finance.html;_ylt=AwrBEiLzfaRTVVwAuDLQtDMD
The very trendy silicone valley schools do not use computers. The parents who work for tech companies send their kids to exclusive schools that do not use technology.
Computers are not essential to learning. We are all trying to give our kids the latest technology and the creators of technology are trying to teach their kids without tech.