{
  "id": 2353696,
  "title": "Adventures in Unplugging",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/21/adventures-in-unplugging",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-08-21T10:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Mother Jones",
    "slug": "mother-jones",
    "url": "https://www.motherjones.com/media/2026/08/digital-detox-golden-door-brick-meta/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Once upon a time, my smartphone felt like an albatross around my neck. My unease about relying on it turned into full-blown anxiety that I was squandering my life on this tiny screen. It seemed as if the device itself was feeding my angst, offering purported solutions to my digital malaise. Suddenly, TikTok influencers began promoting self-guided digital detoxes, and advertisements for Brick, a $59 plastic block that turns smartphones into mere calling and texting devices, appeared everywhere. The Opal app directed users to fulfilling dopamine-filled experiences, like solving math problems, instead of mindlessly scrolling through feeds. Some people are even going as far as ditching their devices altogether, opting for flip phones and joining \"Luddite\" clubs dedicated to offline pursuits like painting and reading. Gwyneth Paltrow, queen of the Goop wellness empire, claims she underwent a digital detox to be more \"present.\" The digital detox tech market raked in an estimated $3.4 billion globally in 2025 and is now projected to grow by 15 percent each year.\n\nThe backlash against smartphones has even made its way into the corporate world, with companies like Spotify and Dolby inviting keynote speaker Nina Hersher, the founder of Digital Resilience Lab, to discuss device-specific wellness. Wellness retreats have been popping up, offering guests the chance to \"detox from digital devices.\" At The Ranch in Malibu, California, guests can enjoy daily massages alongside a \"digital mindfulness\" program. Such retreats are among the wellness industry's fastest-growing sectors, according to a recent McKinsey & Co. report.\n\nI ventured to Golden Door, a posh resort nestled among the Merriam Mountains on the outskirts of San Diego County, seeking a glimpse of their highly-reviewed digital detox retreat. Upon arrival, I was greeted by the heavy scent of jasmine and the distant sound of a burbling creek. As the highway noise faded away, I felt a sense of calm wash over me. The retreat center's founder, Deborah Szekely, attributed her family's survival during the Great Depression to nutritious, fresh food. Drawing from this ethos, Golden Door's program has emphasized organic meals shared in a dining room and daily exercise like hiking since its inception in 1958. Today, the resort also offers LED treatments, dermaplaning, and an experimental \"multisensory\" video experience called The Circle, modeled after Las Vegas' Sphere.\n\nGolden Door General Manager and COO Kathy Van Ness highlights the resort's commitment to minimal environmental impact, such as the quiet robot that trims the lawns to avoid disturbing the 40 or so weekly guests. Golden Door has seen a steady influx of repeat visitors, with 60 percent of guests returning every year. The younger clientele, rather than fixating on fitness fads, arrive at Golden Door anxious and eager to take control of their relationships with smartphones.\n\nHowever, the allure of digital detoxing at Golden Door may not be solely driven by wellness. Guests can indulge in the ultimate quiet luxury: being unreachable. Lily Lambie-Kiernan suggests that this appeal resonates with the well-heeled, allowing them to escape the constant digital connection. While digital detoxing has become a form of wellness, its roots can be traced back to a time of panic, such as the Cambridge Analytica scandal that exposed how social media can manipulate and even manipulate elections. The Anxious Generation, a bestselling book by Jonathan Haidt, further fueled the conversation around digital devices \"rewiring\" children's brains, mobilizing people to push back against screen time.",
  "summary": "I’m not sure when my smartphone began to feel like an albatross, when my unease about relying on it devolved into full-blown anxiety that I was frittering away my life on this tiny screen. As if reading my mind, purported solutions to this digital malaise began appearing on the very device that caused my angst, […]",
  "key_points": [
    "Smartphone users experience anxiety and reliance, leading to digital detox trends.",
    "Wellness retreats offer digital mindfulness programs alongside spa treatments.",
    "Golden Door resort sees repeat visitors seeking smartphone control and quiet luxury."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}