Teenager who has to travel in a camper with her parents hates it and wants a normal life

Since the pandemic locked us all inside for months, the trend of so-called van living has skyrocketed, with tons of people living in RVs, converted vans, and in some cases just plain old SUVs, living on public roads.

But the reality of the lifestyle is often very different from what is seen online. I’ve done it myself, so I speak from experience. And if it’s not something you chose, but rather something your parents force you to do, like one teen who recently posted his experience on Reddit, it’s a whole different story.

The teenager hates the van life and resents her parents for forcing her into it.

Living in a camper or some kind of converted van is nothing new. Books like ‘Into the Wild’ already highlighted the culture in the 1990s. But it really exploded when the pandemic hit. In the first two years alone, the number of vans has increased by 65%, from 1.9 million in 2020 to 3.1 million in 2022.

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The lack of strings attached, the sense of adventure and access to nature’s wide open spaces make life seem idyllic to many. The social media influence that comes with it can also be incredibly lucrative.

But as always, all that media attention has a dark side. And a teenager on Reddit is trapped by her parents’ combination of wanderlust and ambition. “I’m the child of one of those traveling RV families online,” she wrote in her Reddit post, “and I hate them for it every day.”

The teen said her parents film her constantly, she has no friends or privacy and is desperate to get away from her parents.

The teen wrote that she was forced into her parents’ RV life at the age of seven. Her father works remotely and her mother is a content creator, so she has no choice but to be a part of it.

She wrote that her mother “is big enough that sometimes we get recognized… and I’ve had a camera shoved in my face for as long as I can remember.”

That has them at their wits’ end. “I’ve gotten enough attention and I’m tired of it,” she wrote, adding, “I hate them because they treat me like a pet that they can just drag into their plans, instead of like their child .” But her anger goes far beyond just being sick of the attention. Her situation honestly borders on neglect.

Education is clearly not a priority for her parents. After being homeschooled throughout her childhood, she then switched to online school “at my own insistence for high school” so that she can have some hope for a future and hopefully attend college.

She also has no privacy or space – just a bunk bed that she has long outgrown and a curtain divider. But probably much more damaging is the deep isolation in which she lives.

“I’m an 18 year old girl and I don’t have any friends personally because the longest I’ve ever stayed anywhere is a month,” she wrote. And she desperately wants to get away from her parents, but has no means to do so. “I don’t have a job and I can’t get one because I don’t stand still.”

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I have been living the “van life” lifestyle. It’s much harder than it looks, and there’s no room for children.

In 2021, I hit the road in my trusty Honda CR-V for three months of van life – or SUV and tent life, as it were – across the western US. In 2022 I did it again for about two months.

Thanks to the author

They were both magical experiences. The things I have seen, the walks I have taken, the rivers I have swam in, the beautiful places I have slept under the stars and the people I have met along the way have truly changed me forever. (I’m writing a book about it and all, according to the aforementioned Van Life narcissism!)

But even during the short stints I did, living in a van was incredibly – sometimes crushingly – tough. The lack of any anchor, the sometimes suffocating loneliness, the exposure to the elements and the difficult logistical issues of doing everything from laundry to showering. And my God, the CONSTANT need to buy ice cream often takes a toll on your sanity.

Thanks to the author

For me it was worth it. When I had to buy a new car earlier this year, I made sure I got one with even more room so I could camp out in the back like the weird hippie nomad that I am.

But the thing is, I’m a 45 year old single man with no attachments – no parent. And I’m certainly not a growing, developing child. I can’t imagine even making it through an entire summer of my van life as a teenager, let alone years and years.

The bottom line is that this teen is being neglected, even if unintentionally, in the name of her parents’ social media influence.

That may sound extreme, but depriving children of friends, space, and a good education is literally considered neglect and abuse by mental health and social service professionals because of the way it affects multiple facets of mental, emotional, and intellectual development. hinder a child. And forcing them to star in your constant social media videos adds exploitation on top of that.

But it seems clear that this girl’s parents are too preoccupied with their own adventure to even take their daughter seriously. “I’ve talked to them countless times about all of this, and they are so delusional and sincerely believe that ‘a nomadic existence is the best way to live.’”

It could be. But not for a child. Several commenters on Reddit even went so far as to recommend that she contact runaway services. A commenter who said they work for 1-800-RUNAWAY wrote that “we help people like you every day,” showing that this teen is not alone in this incredibly twisted situation.

Children are people who need stability and care in order to grow. They are not props in your social media videos or inconveniences to manage during your lifetime vacation. And when they tell you their needs, you should listen and not ignore them.

Children deserve better – and your adventures in narcissism can wait until retirement.

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John Sundholm is a news and entertainment writer who covers pop culture, social justice and human interest topics.