In the last 20 years, screens have become more abundant and captivating than ever. As technology has advanced and embedded itself deeper within our society, screens seem to control many aspects of our lives, for good or for bad. Escape rooms and other forms of creative entertainment have proven to be effective outlets, in which we put our screens aside and enjoy quality time with family or friends.
There are a lot of good and valuable uses for our screens, such as work, education, research, and communication with loved ones. I personally have a handful of technology in my home and currently typing this on my Macbook. That’s to say, we rely on all of our different screens for alternate forms of gratification, be it productivity or leisure. The internet provides an infinite amount of information, making it is easy to become lost into your own personal niche of searches and information catered to your interests that we begin to believe that these are the things that matter most in the world.
Here at Red Door, we strive to connect people, and we happen to use creative entertainment as a means of doing so. And YES, we utilize lots of technology and screens to assist in the experience. Virtual Reality is quite literally a screen strapped to your face, but it is such a useful tool for people to be present together while playing. Escape rooms check all the right boxes; no phones allowed, you have to communicate thoughtfully to succeed, collaboration is required, and when you’re done you feel as though you have accomplished something as a team (regardless of whether you escaped or not). We don’t want you to set your screens aside because we think they’re evil, we want you to bring yourself to the present to be able to focus on being together for just an hour and rely on EACH OTHER for your gratification.
When you enter an escape room together and go through the full experience, I can guarantee you that you will always come out of the last door feeling a deeper bond with those who you just completed a challenge with. There is a high chance to bond closer to someone with some sort of engagement than with someone with no history. We deal with so many personal struggles daily, often bottling them up and ignoring them, which we can end up subconsciously dealing with in unhealthy ways. Escape rooms are such an excellent way to simulate a struggle that you embark upon dealing with, alongside; close friends, families, coworkers, or other people who you were paired with. Having a common mission that everyone is working towards puts everyone into the same mind-frame.
It is our goal that people can come and enjoy our escape rooms with other people and come out the other side feeling closer. Our screens are not going away, I for one am glad of that, but I am always grateful for the opportunity to set mine aside and get to enjoy the world with those who I am close with or have genuine interactions with people I haven’t even met yet.
