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Summer camps can give kids the digital detox they desperately need

March 22, 2026

Single mother Susie Reveles works two jobs to support her two kids. During the summer, if the kids aren’t at summer camp, they’re in tow when she heads to work. “I send my son there only to get him off the screens,” she said during a recent interview.

“He can come to work with me, and he can just sit there on his [Nintendo] Switch or his iPad, but I’d rather have him go and socialize and keep the routine of getting up and getting dressed.” Reveles sends both her son and daughter to St Wilfrid’s Preschool Summer Camp in Huntington Beach, where they keep busy with creative projects, foam parties and gardening, among other activities. The most crucial benefit for Reveles is simply, “they have fun!”

Summer camps are nothing new. In fact, organized camping for kids has been around since the late 1800s, according to the American Camp Association (ACA). What is relatively new, however, is the increasing need to pry kids away from their screens.

A recent study revealed that nearly one in three kids worldwide is addicted to their smartphones. Meanwhile, 66% of kids report feeling anxious when they do not have their smartphones, and 34% report using smartphones excessively.

Russell Etzenhouser, Scout Executive overseeing three Southern California camps, including Irvine Ranch Outdoor Education Center and Newport Sea Base, said summer camps benefit kids by getting them away from digital environments. “All of their social interaction, or frequently, much of their social interaction, occurs on a digital platform,” Etzenhouser said. “That’s just the way it is today. What it does is short-circuit the real person-to-person interaction that they need to be able to establish lasting relationships, to be able to have more positive interactions with people.”

Etzenhouser said summer camps are helping kids understand the value of building unplugged rapport with their peers and getting them outdoors and physically active. “It’s such a critical piece for kids, and it has positive benefits both for mental health and physical health.”

At Irvine Ranch, kids ages 6-17 can enjoy zip-lining, rock climbing, swimming, archery, and creative STEM projects. At Newport Sea Base, campers can kayak, paddleboard, sail, fish, and participate in marine science labs.

“Folks forget just how important it is just to be nice to each other and look out for each other and take care of each other, and that’s one of the things we always emphasize,” said Etzenhouser.

Social psychologist Jonathan Haidt’s 2024 book “The Anxious Generation” delves into the rise of smartphones and social media and the subsequent youth mental health epidemic. Haidt argues that by replacing a play-based childhood with a “phone-based childhood,” kids are increasingly sleep deprived, isolated and digitally hooked.

Henry DeHart, CEO of the American Camp Association, said that while he’s not an expert in the area, there’s plenty of research on the potential negative impacts of screen time.

“What we do know is that camp is one of the few remaining spaces where children can have extended time away from screens and social media,” DeHart said in a recent email exchange. “ACA’s Youth Impact Study suggests that these experiences can have lasting, positive impacts, helping kids return home with improved communication skills, resilience, and a greater sense of self.”

Summer camp can serve as a digital detox, or a reset. “Camp provides a unique environment where kids can step out of the constant digital noise and focus on real-world connections. Being away from screens provides opportunities for face-to-face relationship building and creativity. Kids learn to navigate challenges, resolve conflicts, and support one another, all of which contribute to personal growth and support whole-child development.”

Catalina Island Camps offer waterfront activities, snorkeling, kayaking, sailing, tubing, arts and crafts, archery, ropes courses, gardening and more. (Courtesy of Catalina Island Camps.)

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Catalina Island Camps offer waterfront activities, snorkeling, kayaking, sailing, tubing, arts and crafts, archery, ropes courses, gardening and more. (Courtesy of Catalina Island Camps.)

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While Irvine Ranch and Newport Sea Base are day camps, some parents might opt to send their kids to a sleep-away camp, where kids live onsite for a set period of time. Catalina Island Camps director Tom Horner explained that sleep-away camps like his offer a range of benefits, from digital detox to autonomy (no offense, parents) and a break from regular schedules.

“They get to be in a setting that is fun, inviting and exciting, and they are with a group of their peers, and they’re living together in a small space at camp. They all get to have millions of mini negotiations all day long, every day, face to face,” said Horner. “Figuring out what they want to do and how they want to do it, whether it’s cleaning, eating, going to activities, or figuring out a skit for campfire, or how they’re going to play a card game, or any of those kinds of things. There are so many face-to-face interactions with all the kids who are living in the cabin, and it’s all done without any screens at all.”

Catalina Island Camps offer waterfront activities, snorkeling, kayaking, sailing, tubing, arts and crafts, archery, ropes courses, gardening and more. According to Horner, this independence and immersion in nature help kids to discover new things about themselves and their environment.

While places like Irvine Ranch, Newport Sea Base and Catalina Island Camps offer activities that may be a dream come true for some kids, not all kids are keen on grand outdoor excursions, and there are camp opportunities for them too.

Jennifer Lee, owner of Create OC Art Studio in Orange, hosts weekly summer day camp sessions with varying themes for kids ages 5-11. “It’s three hours of art a day,” Lee said during a recent interview. “We have different themes every week; Fairyland, Minion Science, PopStar Sensation. Just a bunch of different ones. It’s all different media. So drawing, painting, collage, sculpting, just a little bit of everything, and then a lot of fun.”

Lee said the benefits of art camp include boosts in self-esteem, building friendships, learning to work as a team, and learning to make a mess and clean up after themselves. Kids leave camp with a sense of ownership of their art and pride in what they create and take home at the end of the week.

Josh and Erika Harold send their daughter, Amelia, to both Oak Canyon Nature Center in Anaheim and Create OC Art Studio for summer camp sessions year after year. Discovering the studio, they said, has been “a godsend.”

“Amelia, like any kid, is inundated by screens. She has an iPad at school that she does a lot of work on. She has an iPad at home that we let her use on occasion. And then, just TV screens in the house,” Josh Harold said during a recent interview. “My wife and I were always looking for active play outside the home, and our daughter just has this natural propensity towards art, and she finds such joy in that.”

“I feel like when she comes home from camp, no matter if it’s Oak Canyon or OC Create Art, she’s less likely to immediately go grab the iPad,” said Erika Harold. “If she goes to grab something, she’s gonna go grab a pencil and a piece of paper and she’s gonna get started on drawing.”

Summer camps can give kids the digital detox they desperately need Orange County Register

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Summer camps can give kids the digital detox they desperately need

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