一位母亲分享了女儿参加无手机露营的经历，并意外发现自己对手机的依赖。女儿的无手机体验有助于她更好地与同伴交流，而母亲则经历了从担忧到反思的过程。她意识到自己对智能手机的过度依赖，并开始尝试减少手机使用，重新关注现实生活中的人际互动和家庭时光。这篇文章探讨了现代父母在数字时代如何平衡科技与亲子关系，以及自我觉察和调整的重要性。

👨‍👩‍👧 女儿的无手机露营体验促进了其社交和独立性，让孩子有机会脱离屏幕，更深入地认识同伴，享受户外活动带来的乐趣。尽管对母亲而言，初期会因无法即时联系而产生焦虑，但这一经历也为孩子提供了宝贵的成长机会。

📱 作者发现自己对智能手机的过度依赖，在女儿无手机的周末，她体验到前所未有的不适与担忧，甚至出现“灾难化”的想象。这促使她反思自己作为“80后”一代，在科技飞速发展的今天，对即时通讯和信息获取的习惯已经与成长经历中的自由放养模式截然不同。

⚖️ 作者开始有意识地调整自己与手机的关系，例如周末将手机放在别处、与家人互动时放下手机、以及暂时远离社交媒体。她认识到，平衡科技与生活是一项长期挑战，需要时刻保持警觉，适时调整，以确保手机服务于生活，而非主导生活。

💡 文章提醒家长关注自身在数字时代的行为模式，避免过度沉迷手机，从而更好地引导孩子建立健康的科技使用习惯。通过减少自身对手机的依赖，家长能够为孩子树立积极榜样，鼓励他们更多地参与现实世界的活动和人际交往。

My daughter went on a cell-phone-free wilderness trip for a weekend.It was a great way for her to unplug and get to know other girls.I had an unexpectedly hard time not being able to text or call whenever I felt like it.

My daughter recently went on a Girl Scout camping trip. They went rock climbing and hiking and had a weekend full of adventures.

Much to my delight (although less to hers!), cellphones were off-limits for the weekend. It was supposed to help the girls get to know each other better. I'm also sure it was easier on the staff not to worry about girls dropping, breaking, or losing their phones while they were out exploring. On a more practical note, the cell service wasn't any good where they were camping anyway.

What I didn't expect was how difficult it would be for me to not be able to reach my daughter instantly.

I'm so glad my daughter has some screen-free weekends

Like most parents I know, I'm concerned about how much time my kids spend on their phones. My daughter is in middle school, and she doesn't remember a world without smartphones. I'm trying to teach her to have a healthy relationship with technology. It's not all bad, but I want her to have plenty of offline time as well.

I've always been conscious of trying to limit her screen time and that of her older siblings. I tried to find lots of analog activities for them to do when they were younger. I encouraged them to try after-school activities that would hopefully keep them active and entertained. I wanted them to spend time with people in real life instead of mostly online.

But I realize I haven't been as conscious of whether I myself was too attached to my smartphone at the same time.

I didn't expect it to bother me that I couldn't reach her

That weekend, I was everything from mildly annoyed to downright anxious that I couldn't talk to my daughter during her trip.

I'd go to text her something funny, and remember she wouldn't see it until she was home. The staff had ways to reach us in an emergency, but I still worried about whether she made it to the campground from our drop-off site safely.

I catastrophized. I played out all kinds of ridiculous, but still scary, scenarios in my head at night when I tried to sleep.

My reaction caught me completely by surprise. I'm an 80s kid. I'm from the generation that was famously kicked outside to ride bikes with our friends until it got dark. I didn't grow up able to communicate with my parents at every moment.

When I got in an accident that totaled my car just after college, I waited until our scheduled weekly phone call to mention it to my parents. Now, I can't imagine my kids not calling me immediately in the same situation.

I like that phones mean I know where everyone is, and that they can call for help right away in an emergency. Some of my kids have their driver's licenses, and I feel better knowing they can check in when they arrive somewhere.

But when I couldn't contact my daughter right away, like I was accustomed to doing, it really threw me. I didn't like it one bit.

I'm trying to make some changes

I think a lot of my problem was that I've gotten too used to my phone. Gradually, without realizing it, I've checked it more and more. I'm not a prolific poster, but I scroll a lot to see what everyone else is posting. I've gotten accustomed to grabbing my phone and texting whatever I'm thinking to whoever I want, immediately. And I'm used to getting a response from them immediately, too.

My phone isn't all bad. I get pictures of my extended family in our group chats, and text my friend overseas like she still lives here. I read books on it. I have a terrible sense of direction, so I definitely need it for navigating.

But when I'm at the point that one weekend of not texting my daughter makes me worried, that's a bad sign.

So now, I try to leave my phone in the other room on weekends and spend time offline. I put down my phone and look at people while they're talking to me. It's currently summer, so if we're on a hike or doing something as a family, I try to put my phone away and fully engage with everyone. I also take weekends off from social media.

I'm sure it will be a lifelong challenge to balance the good and bad parts of having a smartphone. I hope I can stay aware of when it's gaining too much of a foothold in my life, and readjust once again. Or maybe sometimes I just need a long camping trip somewhere with no cell service.