Turning OFF Technology and Turing ON Personality

By: Traci Stratford, JCC Camp Kingswood Assistant Director

As I write this, my iPhone sits on my desk to the right, Outlook is open, a new email

reminder pops up in the bottom right corner of my screen every few minutes and the Kingswood’s  Facebook and Twitter pages are open in my web browser.   I am constantly connected to technology- tweets, texts, likes, Instagram, Yelp, the game 2048 and the constant ‘bing’ when a new email arrives in my inbox.  Technology has become a cornerstone in the way we live our lives and it’s not going away anytime soon.

Unless… the user is spending the summer at Camp Kingswood.  We’ve made our camp “screen free”- no iPhones, Gameboys, DSii, iPods, Kindles… nothing with a screen.  We don’t deny that technology is important and we’re looking forward to blogging, Facebook posting, tweeting and photo sharing all summer long from Bridgton.  These intentional technological communication methods are simply to share with those not at camp, the amazing things happening at Kingswood when we’ve unplugged for the summer.  The real question to ask is why deviate so drastically from what has become the norm in our everyday lives?

Steve Baskin is the owner/director of Camp Champions, a partner of Everwood Day Camp in Massachusetts and Camp Pinnacle in North Carolina as well as an American Camping Association (ACA) Board Member.  I came across a Ted Talk Steve gave in San Antonio last year.  If in your hours of Internet browsing you watch one video today—I hope this is it.  Steve articulates exactly why Kingswood has made the decision to disconnect  and allow the true power of the camp community to shine in absence of technology. 

Enjoy - and i’d love to hear your feedback and comments. As I mentioned, I’m always connected.

An 11 minute video -- now a short one minute read:

• The average teenager spends 53 hours a week looking at an electronic screen; 11 hours texting alone.
• A fulfilling life starts with interpersonal, face-to-face connections that require the following skills - all of which require practice:

o   Empathy

o   Reading other people

o   Body language

o   Intonation

• Research by the Partnership for 21^stCentury Skills found college and high school graduates are entering the work force with a deficit of skills; they do not have the skills necessary to be successful in a world defined by flux and change.

• The research stresses the importance of the following skills (all of which are learned at camp!)

o   Oral communication: the ability to listen and persuade another human beings

o   Collaboration: the ability to get together with a group of people, some not of your choosing, and agree on a goal, plan and execute that plan (sounds like a typical day at camp)

o   Creativity

None of these skills happen by accident

Camp is the most immersive and intentional experience for creating and growing these skills. Camp is the only place where you can get elementary school kids and teenagers to log off and put down their technology—and they love it! This is what genuine connection feels like!  For 16 hours a day at camp we unplug. We’re together with other human beings. Nonstop.

Camp isn’t taking technology away...

Camp teaches the skills to be able to turn off technology and turn on personality. 

TedX Talks. (23 January, 2013). Unplugging our kids: Steve Baskin at TEDxSanAntonio. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rI3olRHxP4