Survivor has quite a few behind-the-scenes elements that fans are often not privy to. For a reality show that has been on the air for the last 25 years and 48 seasons, that establishes quite a fanbase, and with those fans comes curiosity. Although the game has changed drastically in many ways over the years, the root premise is essentially the same.
Players must survive on an island with a group of (usually) strangers, completely removed and isolated from the world. In that time, they will compete, vote each other out of the game, and in the end, the players who were voted out will decide who wins. One of the key details of this description that is often overlooked is the isolation piece: having no connection to the outside world at all.
Rachel LaMont, winner of Survivor 47, gives her insight into not only how that factored into her experience, but also her overall gameplay as well.
Rachel LaMont found appreciation in the moment
Rachel LaMont is not just any Survivor winner; she is arguably among the most dominant, certainly of the new era, and ranks strongly across the entire franchise as well. She was able to play a strong game physically, a powerful game with advantages, had a good social game, and was a strategic threat as well. Certainly, then, she was incredibly well-rounded.
Obviously, she was well situated to play a strong game regardless, given the traits she clearly possessed. But is there any possibility that being stripped of technology helped her in the game? It may not be as far-fetched as it seems. In episode 7 of On Fire with Jeff Probst, the Survivor winner was asked about technology on the show, and her answer was very interesting.
In a mailbag segment where Rachel, Jeff Probst, and Jay Wolff answer questions from fans, a listener wrote in and directed a question to Rachel. They asked, "What is it like to be without your phone for 26 days? Do you feel like you were able to think more clearly?"
Rachel had a response that I think is commonly echoed among people who remove themselves from the pull of the technological world.
"Oh man, it was over 30 for what it's worth because we do a bit of pregame as well. One of my favorite things about the Survivor experience, aside from playing the game, was the digital detox."
"Like, it's not just your phone, it's the TV and your computer," she continued. "It's no screens for over 30 days. That's basically impossible in real life. And so it was so free and I do think and I do think it helped me think more clearly, but more than anything, I was more present. And I think that it has given me much richer and more intense memories of my time on Survivor than I ever would have if I had my phone available."
Most of the answer makes a lot of sense. One interesting piece in there to highlight was the idea behind thinking clearly and being more present. Given Rachel's fluid situational awareness in the game, ability to adapt to challenges around her, and skill at finding and properly utilizing advantages, one could certainly argue that her presence in the game played a major role. Perhaps some can more easily adapt to the present world than others, and that skill helped Rachel in the game.
This is not to take away from Rachel's success in any way, or to imply that somehow taking away technology from her gave her some special advantage in her personality that others do not have. Rather, it is just interesting to see how she appreciated the technology detox, as she calls it, and it helped her be able to enjoy her experience way more. In that enjoy, it is entirely possible that she was also able to use her groundedness in the game as an additional asset to bring her to the end.
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