April Update: No Scrolling Here

Almost every week or month there are new school districts, whole states or even whole continents that are banning smartphones from schools and classrooms or limiting children’s access to social media. Though we have always known it is an incredibly important part of the camp experience, we have been hearing more and more about the research-supported benefits of being phone and tech free in other areas of our lives.

The landmark case in March found social media has addictive features which have a deleterious effect on teen mental health. Even more recently, in an odd twist in our heavily curated and influencer driven world, a wildly popular and highly celebrity-studded event, The Masters PGA golf tournament, is STRICTLY (and happily) phone free.

And, just last week, The Washington Post shared WHY this is so important for kids, adults and celebrities alike: decreasing our social media use correlates to increases in “sus­tained atten­tion.”

In many studies, heavy use of social media leads to both “declines in men­tal health” and “to meas­ur­able cog­nit­ive effects — on atten­tion, memory and focus — that in some stud­ies resemble accel­er­ated aging.” Taking a “digital detox” equates to reversing “10 years of age-related decline…and the effect of the (digital detox) inter­ven­tion on depres­sion symp­toms was lar­ger than anti­de­press­ants and sim­ilar to that of cog­nit­ive beha­vi­oral ther­apy.”

All we have to do is have a “reset” and take a break from our phones.

In that way, campers at Sanborn Western Camps are sipping from the Fountain of Youth. Having the opportunity to disconnect from their phones for two or four weeks of the year may be the only significant chunk of time they have for this much needed “detox.”

Campers don’t compare themselves to influencers at camp, they interact with real-life role models (their counselors) in real time. They may “curate” their days by choosing their own trips and activities, but they deepen their own sense of perspective and place in the quiet, awe-inspiring, sunset/sunrise/shooting-star moments in the natural world. They are actually connected and interconnected to micro and macro communities within the camp structure: their living units, their ridge groups, their single-gender camps and the larger–and very supportive–Sanborn community as a whole.

Camp has always been an incredibly special place where people come together from all across the country and the world and realize they have more in common than not. It is a place where campers realize they have the capacity to do hard things and discover new strength and awareness within themselves and others.

At Sanborn Western Camps, we are committed to building a fun and respectful community that values excellence, stewardship, innovation, and connections with the natural world while always caring for and supporting individuals in their growth and development. We want kids to have the opportunity to slow down and tune out the constant hum of an uncertain, chaotic world and discover a place where they can find peace and experience awe.

We cannot wait for our 2026 campers to begin to arrive in a few short months–it will be the “reset” for all of us–and an opportunity to remember how to focus our attention on the people, places, communities and values that truly matter.

What we are all doing for kids is important work–and, as we learn every summer, it is easier to climb a mountain with friends than by ourselves. So we hope you will take some time over the next few weeks for your own “digital detox” and let us know how it goes.

Think summer!