Learning How to Survive Without the Internet

Matt and his son Will (left); Treion and his daughter Chloe (right)

I (Matt) spent a week in the Rocky Mountains with a troop of a dozen boy scouts, and I (Treion) spent a few days hiking a 13,500 foot (4,100 m) mountain with friends and family.

All of us went without computers, the Internet or cell phones for an extended period of time and we survived without any withdrawal symptoms.

It was great to see kids outside in the wilderness learning about archery, soil conservation, rock climbing, canoeing, and how to survive rattlesnake (and mosquito!) bites.

One night, after all of the scouts sat around and talked – not texted – with each other, I pointed out the stars in the dark night sky. They learned about constellations and sat in disbelief at what they saw.

We could have all stayed at home and learned about these things on the Internet, but if you have the ability and the resources, sometimes the best learning you can do is hands-on experience.

If you haven’t tried it in a while, do it! It’s really refreshing to get away from all of the buzzing, beeping, and flashing gadgets and learn something in new and different ways.