What to think about phones at camp
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It’s all about kids today
Let’s get this out of the way. I like my phone.
I love being able to text camp pro friends (Hey Sam! Hey Carolyn! Hey Lolo!), see what’s happening in the world, make quick connections with other folks, answer parent questions instantly, all of it.
Phones make running camp waaaay easier in a million different ways.
But (probably) like you, I spent loads of time this summer thinking about phones and camp at the same time.
Screen time. Snapchat. Limits. Viral TikTok stuff.
The “battles” maybe being fought (won and lost) at home with this.
What phones mean for camp over the long term. All of it.
Not having a super clean and clear answer for the issue of “PHONES!” I decided to take it to the people (read: the campers) to hear what they actually thought about spending 6.5 weeks without their phones.
It turns out they made the best case for keeping camp phones free. Way better than any argument I could have come up with on my own.
And you best believe I’m going to be talking to parents about phones this way from now on.
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What Kids Say
K&E is set up as separate boys and girls camps so it’s a bit “easier” to go out and get different groups talking about this. Don’t think the answers would have changed too much, but maybe.
Anyway, I asked a bunch of Senior Hill (mostly 14-year-old) boys outside the dining hall, “What if you could have your phones at camp?”
Kudos to them, they spent some time thinking about it*.
*Sidenote: A major camp advantage is that of time. There’s time to sit and think about stuff.
“Maybe once a week?” “Like an hour on Sundays?” “We could check in with friends back home…”
They worked through the possibilities. These are mostly 14-year-olds who’ve been managing their own social lives for years. They know exactly what they’re missing.
After talking it through, they landed somewhere around this:
“I could handle it, but other people couldn’t…”
There was no right answer, but they could for sure see what phones might compromise at a place they loved.
Meanwhile, two middle school girls decided to make this their official camp project. Grabbed clipboards and started surveying everyone they could find.
Their research question: “What if girls had phones here?”**
Bunk to bunk, activity to activity, asking campers what they thought.
The extremely scientific results?
Overwhelming. Almost everyone said NO. Only one out of dozens said she’d want her phone at camp.
These weren’t kids parroting adult talking points. There was no need to. No upside for giving answers that weren’t genuine.
These were kids who spend most of their year glued to their devices, making a clear choice about what they wanted their summer to be like.
And don’t get me wrong, as soon as these girls got their phones back after camp, 1000 snapchats a day, mostly with camp friends, but back on their phones for sure.
**Not-so-quick sidenote: This convo started because they are prepping for a final school project about the power of camp. This happened at my camp, but I could be writing about any of our camps. It’s so cool that we get to run places that kids are proud of, that give them a sense of purpose in a world that often doesn’t.
The Competitive Advantage
Home adults (and maybe even you) are drowning in screen time battles.
Managing usage apps, parental controls (that kids know how to get around), negotiating daily limits, monitoring online info. It’s exhausting.
Camp is just a relief valve for all of it. And most importantly, the kids WANT it.
But it’s not just about what parents don’t have to worry about. It’s about what kids actually get.
The boys and girls understood get this 100%. In fact, they probably get it better than anyone. They could see how phones would screw up the authentic relationships they’d built. They know phones would just mean temptations to scroll.
Basically, without exactly saying it, they were saying phones are designed to fracture attention, create fomo, and make a “Who’s cooler?” rat race.
And without them around, they could get back to work doing what they do best: being kids.
How to Message This to Parents
When I’m talking to parents about our phone policy, frame it as relief, not restriction.
Trying not to start with words like “ban” or “phone-free”.
I don’t think we need to. Instead, I want to tell this story. Show that this is what kids want. I’m sure you’ve heard some version of this. And if you haven’t, just use the stuff I just said above. I guarantee it’s what most kids would say.
When kids were asked if phones would make camp better, the answer was easy.
No.
This from the group who understands, uses, and can wield tech way better than almost anyone running a camp.
Camps are different because we don’t use phones because the kids don’t want to use phones.
That’s a nice little message. Besides it being true, it will connect with parents as well.
Kids want a place intentionally different so they don’t have to feel the pressure of being the same.
You got this,
Jack
PS - Thoughts on phones at camp? Curious if this landed or if you heard kids say similar things this summer?
Get my newsletter every week.
It’s all about kids today
Jack Schott
Summer Camp Evangelist