Digital re-enchantment: tribal belonging, new age science and the search for happiness in a digital detoxing community

Thesis

Our digital era is no less “human” or “authentic” than any other time in history, yet many people feel that the opposite is true. This study investigates Camp Grounded’s digital detox and summer camp for adults as an example of the “social fact” of anti-tech narratives, and as an opportunity to better understand how we live with technology today.

Why do people attend a digital detox, and what happens when they return to their digital lives? This ethnography of a digital detoxing community views detoxing as a symptom of Weber’s “disenchantment,” an isolating and meaningless modern existence, which can be countered through New Age “re-enchantment.”

At Camp Grounded, digital detoxers hope to recreate the experience of tribal life, using imaginaries of neuroscience to envision the dangerous, unnatural, and “disenchanted” world they live in. At camp, detoxers feel a spiritual connection to nature, to each other, and a deeply rooted sense of belonging to the human race. Returning to their digital lives after their time in the woods, digital detoxers are inspired to prioritise their personal growth and happiness.

This research explores how people can have their own understandings of categories like “use" and "non use" of technology, how science is used and misused by people in everyday life, and the ways in which people imagine technology to be harmful.

Authors: Sutton, T

• Type of award: DPhil
• Level of award: Doctoral
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English
• Keywords: psychology; wellness; mindfulness; enchantment; digital anthropology; new age spirituality; california; community; social media; technology; neuroscience; digital detoxing; mental health; ethnography; digital detox; disenchantment; new age; san francisco bay area
• Subjects: Anthropology of religion; Psychology; Sociology; Social science literature; Technology; Anthropology