The hot new discovery: unplugging

It had to come to this.

People are now paying to go places where they’re forced to unplug/disconnect from the wired world, NPR reports. And, they’re calling it “a movement.”

All Tech Considered says people pay, by one example, $350 to be forced to unplug…

But for many of the participants, the most exciting activity was conversation. Campers adopted nicknames like “Chamomile” and “Nash,” and were barred from talking about work or disclosing their age. Nicholas Freilich says that not being able to discuss work or even reveal their actual names allowed everyone to quickly understand each other on a more personal level.

“You had to talk about who you were as a person,” he explains. And no one could “check out” by looking down at his or her phone mid-way through a conversation. “People were so much more willing to engage in eye contact,” Freilich says.

“I was having a lot of phantom rings on my leg, thinking I was getting a phone call or message,” says camper Chris Heuer.

If only someone had warned you.