Here at WriCampia, we don’t have screens because, if we did, people might just hang around in the cabins instead of getting fresh air and having fun in nature. I wrote this article because I wanted to see how it affected people to not have screens. At WriCampia, campers write a lot and have access to computers during workshops and electives. However, phones are not permitted at camp, and are confiscated before the bus ride to camp (with the exception of campers from D.C., who are allowed their phones for most of the longer bus ride). Additionally, no electronic devices that play videos of any kind are permitted at camp.
“Honestly, it’s hard sometimes, but I made a lot of friends without it, so it’s OK. My other camp was screen-free, too,” said Chloe, an upper camper. Instead of going on screens, she told me she enjoys watercolor and gossiping with her bunkmates. “I would recommend watercolor because it’s just super fun and you make a lot of friends there,” she said.
Writing this article, I realized how many people actually liked not having screens. Many other campers included how many friends you can make and how many people you can meet without a screen. A lower camper, Olive, said that she thought not having screens at WriCampia was refreshing, and that you can better connect when you aren’t glued to your phone. I think not having screens at WriCampia is a fantastic idea because the computers are blocked from all AI, but not all phones are. People would still have a source of AI if they had their phone. If someone were to write their book using AI, it wouldn’t be theirs. And also, AI can be wrong some of the time, so it isn’t good to trust it. Also, when you don’t have a screen you can try new things that you haven’t before. Sandy, from upper camp, said that her favorite thing to do instead of being on her screen is to hang out with her friends and play card games and walk around acres and stargaze. Summer camp is supposed to be a fun getaway from normal modern life, and the no-screens policy makes that possible.
