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At tech-free camps, people pay hundreds to unplug.

The overwhelming and endless stream of electronic alerts and messages on our computers, phones and tablets is driving demand for anew kind of summer camp for adults. “Technology-free" camps that force their campers to surrender their gadgets, wallets and that nagging “fear of missing out"—FOMO—are booking up fast.

In June, The Digital Detox held it first session of Camp Grounded, a three-day break from electronic devices in the Redwoods of Northern California. At a price tag of $350, the event sold out.

"You read articles about being present and being in the moment, and you kind of nod your head and you agree. But I don’t think you know what that means until you put everything away and you’re okay with where you are," says Anastasia Savvina, who attended the June camp.

Read more on NPR’s All Tech Considered blog.

Elysha O’Brien calls herself a “Mexican white girl.” Not just because of her ethnically ambiguous appearance, she says, but also because she can’t speak Spanish. Fearing their children would experience discrimination if they spoke Spanish, her parents chose not to teach them their native tongue.

— Living In Two Worlds, But With Just One Language