I quite frankly didn't think it possible due to being so accustomed to technology, having the world at your fingertips, google being your best friend, resigning to streaming services, getting lost in everything that’s not your reality, and ignoring being present. My screen time has never been this low - this, I think, has been one of the most incredible things that has happened since I started camping. It made me realize how technology, even with all its many advantages, like the ability to run this blog and to have all of you read it, paradoxically minimizes the world. Think about it, if you have all the information you need by merely clicking a search button, the world seems smaller than it actually is.

I noticed that with less screen time, you tend to release more than you absorb, which I think can be a rather healthy habit. With technology, specifically social media and the likes, we find ourselves caught in the habitual act of taking in so much information about other people, their lifestyles and begin to focus on how our lives differ and how we don’t have certain things that we then begin to believe we need.

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So, I’m in the rural area of a state I’ve never visited with a bunch of friendly strangers, some of which have become good friends, in a gorgeous location that sometimes gets colder than summer should be. Our work here makes us limit phone and other device use and it’s the most incredible thing. Time no longer goes as fast as it used to; I kid you not, it felt like we had been here for a month by the third day!

The effect of this less screen time experiment is more mental and physical freedom. Less of being chained to some device and whatever is on it means being and feeling more alive. It offers a different and more appreciative perspective of life.

It feels like the most genuine thing ever, having actual interactions, seeing different sides of the people through shades of different personalities. It feels like a no filter type thing, like actual reality.