How Kids Stay Plugged-In Outdoors

As the nation’s foremost program of youth development, it’s important we stay abreast of trends.

Did you know young campers say having a smartphone is almost as important as toilet paper in the outdoors?! It’s hard to deny the nature of camping is changing. Although escapism is still one of the top reasons to go camping, completely unplugging from the world has become less of a reality for modern campers.

As the newly released 2015 North American Camping Report details, camping is the perfect way for people to reconnect with nature and the outdoors, reduce stress, and spend quality time with their families. And since camping and enjoying the great outdoors is what Scouts do best, your council might be interested to learn how camping trends are changing for families. But are today’s youth actually excited to sleep outside and explore nature? Are campers disconnecting from technology and sticking to good ol’ fashioned conversation at campsites? Read on to discover some of the report’s surprising, and not so surprising, findings.

• Campers who bring children are highly likely to say children are enthused about camping (83% are “somewhat” or “very enthused”).
• More than a third of campers (36%) say kids today are more interested in camping than they were when younger and half of campers under the age of 35 are likely to suggest that there are higher levels of interest within the younger set of campers.
• Eighty-three percent of campers say they bring their cell phones while camping and 70% go online at some point while camping.
• Access to free Wi-Fi ranks among the top three most important camping amenities.
• As mentioned above, younger campers say having a smartphone (28%) is almost as important as toilet paper (34%)!

Kids still love to camp, yet with changing lifestyles come changing priorities. Campers are more digitally plugged in than ever before and having access to technology is more important. Snapping a couple photos or checking a text or two is a priority for the digitally savvy, and it’s important to consider how these changing trends affect your troops.

Eager to learn more? Discover who’s going camping, where they are going and what the future of camping is looking like by checking out the full report. And share with us, does your troop allow Scouts to use cell phones at camp?

*All statistics are via The 2015 North American Camping Report