Teens go phone-free at summer camp in Santa Barbara

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Victoria Corrales is focusing on letting out her inner child.

“You see things like when you were little like rollie pollies," said participant Corrales of the Digital Cleanse Camp.

That’s what campers are doing at the Digital Cleanse Camp in El Capitan Campground.

Teens are drawing, cycling, hiking and so much more.

“Really enjoy going for walks around all these trees … and also down by the creek it’s nice," said participant Lamar Russell of the Digital Cleanse Camp.

You won’t see any digital device at this summer camp.

For five days, these campers are experiencing life without screens.

No computers. No tablets, No phones.

For some, losing these gadgets hit hard.

“I think I cried a little bit after," said Corrales.

“I was a little sad … sometimes during camp … i’ve missed it … i’ll try and pull it out of my pocket … but it’s not there! hahaha," said participant Story Sampila of the Digital Cleanse Camp.

These teens came to the camp, because they needed a break from the digital world.

“I used to be mean to a lot of people … now I’m just like really nice like i smile a lot more," said Corrales.

“So many beautiful people I’ve been meeting … every single person here I didn’t know before … and now I made a mission to talk to every single one," said participant Ryan Russell of the Digital Cleanse Camp.

Family therapist Dr. Jennifer Freed co-founded the camp in 2019 to help teens suffering from screen addiction.

“Where youth could come … for scholarship only or donation … have an experience over 5 days where they remember who they are without devices … with adults doing the same thing," said Freed.

Freed and the nonprofit organization AHA! of Santa Barbara created the first five-day camp in June of 2021 during the pandemic to address loneliness.

Together, they worked carefully within those constraints to provide youth experiences of adventure, dance, artistic expression, social and emotional learning, and an intergenerational deep listening and sharing without devices present.

AHA! raised the money for this camp so that most youth were on a total scholarship for all five days of vital and joyful community bonding.

After a few laughs over lunch break, it was time to get creative.

They are decorating booklets to serve as a keepsake for their lives.

“We believe not having our devices fosters connection they would otherwise not be possible. I’m excited about this group of teens it’s big and rowdy and it’s so much fun," said lead facilitator Isa Sandoval of the Digital Cleanse Camp.

More than anything, this lively group is getting in touch with something no digital device could ever replace … the human soul.

In the end, the teens eventually got their phones back.

“My hope is that i will delete instagram for good … i’m hoping when i get back i will never open it again because it does not make me feel good," said Lamar Russell.

We checked in with the teens’ parents two weeks later who wept while sharing the transformation this camp had on their kids.

“This is our life’s work … we know what it means … it does get emotional. My daughter has been changed forever. The way she’s influencing her younger brother is also changing his life," said parent Roxana Petty of the Digital Cleanse Camp.

“He became the funny guy the one playing with others … he found nature in a different way … he is now very much aware of how much he uses his phone," said parent Leonisia Caporal of the Digital Cleanse Camp.

Now they know the difference between a chirping bird and the pinging of a phone.