Digital detox: stressed parents pay big to escape technology at Gold Coast retreat
Stressed-out mums and dads are shelling out over $3000 for week-long digital detox retreats to escape mobile phones and other digital devices.
STRESSED-out mums and dads are shelling out more than $3000 for week-long digital detox retreats to escape smartphones and other digital devices.
The Gold Coast’s Eden Health Retreat – long famed for luring celebrities and corporate high-flyers trying to de-stress or battle booze and drug problems – is now offering guests a complete digital detox.
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The upscale health retreat, in the picturesque Currumbin Valley, has next to no mobile phone reception. Wi-Fi? There is none.
“Our guests don’t have much option but to switch off their devices because it’s pretty isolated, and there’s bugger all reception,” assistant manager Chris van Hoof said.
“We don’t force people to hand over their phones and tablets, but if they do try to get a signal, they usually give up. We have guests who want to come and work; we tell them it’s pretty much pointless.
“We encourage them to ditch their devices and reconnect with themselves rather than living life through a screen.
“We say that digital detox happens naturally here at Eden.”
Mr van Hoof said even a group of high-profile social media influencers who recently stayed at the retreat embraced the chance to switch off from their devices.
“These are people who post to social media 10 times a day,” he said.
“They welcomed the opportunity for self-exploration and mindfulness through activities like meditation and pilates, and to just immerse themselves in the beautiful environment.”
The 160ha retreat, which has 28 luxury cabins, has long been famed for luring celebrity and corporate high-flyers wanting to de-stress, lose weight, or battle booze or drug problems.
But Mr van Hoof said ordinary stressed-out ‘‘mums and dads’’ were now checking in for a $3350-a-week digital detox and general wellness reviver.
“So many people these days are tied to their devices,” he said.
“They are the first thing they check in the morning and the last thing they look at at night.
“Here at Eden, the first thing we do is a morning exercise class, and at night we have activities such as a musical program and meditation.
“Dinner isn’t spent in front of a television but around the table talking to one another.”
