Guest Post: Camp Iwanabreak

Today on the blog, I'm featuring a guest post written by McKenzie and Nikki, the founders of a new summer camp for adults called Camp Iwanabreak, where there's one big rule: no technology! It's here in Wisconsin, and it sounds like SO much fun. Visit the Camp Iwanabreak website and have a look for yourself. 

The Need For Real Life Connection in the Modern World

            Did you see the 2013 Academy Award winning movie, Her? In case you missed it, the protagonist of the movie falls in love with the software on his phone (a souped up version of Siri, if you will). I found myself thinking about the movie long after I left the theater, wondering: Is this where we are headed?

            Ten years ago, if you would have asked people what technology would be like in 2015, I’m sure few would have been able to accurately predict our very newfound dependency on our gadgets, apps, and websites.

            Instagram has created a culture where appreciating beauty with our own eyes is no longer enough; we have to photograph our experiences to validate that they are worthy. Snapchat has us recording every moment; we need evidence of our night’s adventures. Twitter has us devising ways to condense the magnitude of our lives into bite sized chunks. Tinder users are swiping left and right, looking for potential dates, but don’t dare approach the people around them. Speaking of relationships: How many times have you heard someone talk about their “Facebook official” relationship status? And I haven’t even mentioned LinkedIn, Pinterest, or Flickr. Sigh.

I’ll make a bold claim, one that I think we all must own up to: We are just so busy narrating our lives on social media that we’re forgetting to live them. We spend more time looking down than we do looking up. Over half the population has admitted to preferring digital communication to the real deal. If I were making bets, I would guess this number would continue to rise. Unless…

Unless we decide it’s time to redefine how we live life on this beautiful world. Do we want to spend half of our waking life experiencing reality through a screen? To reduce the wonder, beauty, sadness, and enormity of our human experience on earth to a digital footprint?

Humans are incredible. It’s time we start connecting with them - in real life! I don’t know about you, but I want my kids falling in love with life in the present moment - and not worrying about whether or not that moment is perfectly curated for others to consume.