Outside CEO Says He Has This Antidote to Screen Addiction

Robin Thurston thinks the most dangerous product in modern life may be the screen staring right back at you.

“This really is the new tobacco,” says the CEO of Outside Inc., who believes Silicon Valley has spent years engineering products designed to keep people indoors. “When you aggregate big tech into this, their primary goal is to capture our attention,” he says.

Public sentiment is starting to catch up. In March, a Los Angeles jury found Meta and YouTube negligent in a closely watched social media addiction case involving a young woman who said addictive features like infinite scroll and autoplay contributed to anxiety and depression. The companies were ordered to pay roughly $6 million in damages, one of thousands of similar lawsuits now moving through courts in California.

Even on social media—the root of the problem—you can feel the backlash. Digital‑detox content and TikTok challenges reward logging off instead of doom‑scrolling, and influencers are racking up views by quitting the apps that made them famous.

Related: How to Find the Right Balance Between Screen Time and ‘Me’ Time (and Why It’s So Important)

From screen to green

 “The antidote to all of it is nature,” Thurston says. His connection to the outdoors is personal. A longtime endurance athlete and cyclist, he describes being outside as a reset from the noise and overstimulation of modern life. “For me, it is church,” he says. “It is my moment where I can meditate.”

That’s why his company operates outdoor publications like Outside and BACKPACKER, hiking and trail apps, mapping tools and experiences designed to get people in the great wide open. Outside’s mission is to inspire everyone to get outdoors while reducing the friction that occurs when people don’t know where to start. Together, those pieces are designed to move people from inspiration to participation – the stories spark the idea, the apps and maps make it doable, and the trips and events turn it into a habit

Outside Days is one answer to that friction. A four-day outdoor culture festival and industry gathering in Denver, the event includes live music from bands like Death Cab for Cutie, outdoor sports, fitness classes, films, wellness experiences and talks centered around adventure, community and time spent outdoors. This year’s event kicks off on May 27th in partnership with the State of Colorado’s Outdoor Recreation Industry Office and presented by Capital One and REI Co-Op.

“I believe in what we’re building and that it will have a big impact on millions of people in terms of their outdoor activities,” says Thurston.

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Getting people to ‘touch grass’

But Thurston is no luddite. He doesn’t believe the answer is abandoning technology altogether. He just thinks companies trying to get people outdoors need to become smarter about how they compete for attention.

Some companies like Niantic, the creator of Pokémon Go, got millions off the couch and wandering around parks and neighborhoods hunting virtual creatures on their phones.

“Pokémon Go used all the same tactics Facebook and Instagram use, but they used them to get people outdoors.” 

The point, Thurston says, isn’t that technology itself is the problem. It’s that the same behavioral mechanics built to keep people glued to screens can just as easily be used to push them outside. The companies trying to get people into nature, in his view, have to build with the same sophistication as the platforms competing for the same attention.

That same idea now influences much of Outside’s strategy. With Thurston at the helm, he has leveraged his tenured technology background – having led all things digital at Under Armour – to expand into events, travel and partnerships designed to provide people with community and memorable experiences.

That bet also tracks with a broader shift Thurston is watching reshape consumer behavior: “I think there is a push to move from more product buying into more experience buying,” he says, pointing to consumers who would rather spend money on a week of fishing in Patagonia than another piece of gear. For Outside, that shift sits at the center of where the business is heading.Outside’s partnership with Marriott Bonvoy International underscores this shift, activating and rewarding members for their travel activities while immersing guests in nature, adventure and storytelling.

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Power in numbers

Thurston concedes that simply telling people to spend less time on screens is no match for the sophisticated systems designed to keep them hooked.

He has three children, ages 9, 12 and 14, and says keeping them off their devices can feel nearly impossible even without social media accounts.

Part of the problem, he argues, is scale. Outdoor companies are competing against some of the largest and most sophisticated technology businesses in the world, many of which are built around maximizing engagement and screen time.

“We have a paper clip in a gunfight,” he says.

That imbalance is one reason Thurston believes partnerships will matter more than individual brands. Outside has already partnered with likeminded companies including Jeep and REI, and Thurston says the larger opportunity may involve airlines, hotels, parks and outdoor brands working together.

He envisions campaigns that encourage states, schools and communities to compete over outdoor activity, along with apps and rewards systems that make spending time outside feel more social and engaging. The momentum is there— he just needs to capture it. 

“I don’t believe that anyone on their deathbed will wish they had more screen time,” Thurston says.

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Robin Thurston thinks the most dangerous product in modern life may be the screen staring right back at you.

“This really is the new tobacco,” says the CEO of Outside Inc., who believes Silicon Valley has spent years engineering products designed to keep people indoors. “When you aggregate big tech into this, their primary goal is to capture our attention,” he says.

Public sentiment is starting to catch up. In March, a Los Angeles jury found Meta and YouTube negligent in a closely watched social media addiction case involving a young woman who said addictive features like infinite scroll and autoplay contributed to anxiety and depression. The companies were ordered to pay roughly $6 million in damages, one of thousands of similar lawsuits now moving through courts in California.