“My job had me glued to my phone, so I quit screens cold turkey”

Because of my work, I spend a lot of time online, checking notifications, monitoring client accounts and drafting content. When I started my social media consulting business in 2020, the demand was intense. I worked 60 hours a week, bouncing between clients across several social media platforms. Managing all those accounts was exhausting. I’d start and end my days the same way: lying in bed, glued to my phone, scrolling. By the summer of 2022, I was burned out, so I decided to sign up for Camp Reset, a digital detox that a friend of mine was hosting in September. The premise is simple: you pay between $325 and $825 for a shared cabin (private cabins or cottages are more), then hand over your phone. For the next four days, you recharge by shutting out the online world and focusing on human connection.

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On day one, I took a bus to Bancroft, three hours northeast of Toronto, to join 200 other campers. The organizers found different ways to respect people’s boundaries. For example, each participant wore a bracelet related to physical contact—green for “open,” yellow for “please ask” and red for “no.” The camp also discouraged work talk—it was a self-enforced rule, but, for me, it was easier than expected to comply. I loved getting to know strangers without having a clue what they did for a living. Instead, we stargazed, lounged in hammocks, swam in the lake and explored the forest. It reminded me of friendships as a kid, before careers became central to our identities.

Camp Reset offered a variety of activities, including archery, a workshop about exploring your fears, and a “silent” disco where we listened to music on headphones and danced the night away. The silence in the woods was wonderful too—without urban sounds or technology, I was much more attuned to my environment. For the first time in years, I wasn’t thinking about my to-do list. Being present in the moment was both grounding and surreal.

Since that summer, I’ve taken steps to unplug whenever possible. I created a system inspired by the camp’s consent bracelets: I put my phone in one of three colour-coded boxes at different points in the day: red for “no phone time,” yellow for “only for emergencies” and green for “normal use.” I set time limits on my phone, which hold me accountable with notifications if I exceed them. I keep my phone out of my bedroom to avoid nighttime scrolling and rely instead on an analog alarm clock. And I’ve committed to spending my weekends outdoors and away from technology as much as possible.

Unplugging isn’t just for people who work in social media. These days, we’re all too dependent on technology. Most of us could use a few days of true disconnection. You don’t need to attend Camp Reset to do it, but a supportive environment definitely helps.