We go camping to create lasting memories for the kids. If you do it right and plan well, it can be very successful. Last year we went to Garner state park in Texas and invited several families to go with us. Our kids invited some friends from school to go with us as well. Later this year, the father of those two friends from school invited us to one of their birthday parties at their home. We noticed our Christmas card photo that we sent them tucked into the corner of their framed family photo on the mantle. He told us how grateful he was that we invited his kids to go camping. He said they were changed and came back different kids. I'm not sure why that is the case, but it appearantly meant a lot to them. (I think the fact we had no cell phones for a week had something to do with it.)
I'm pretty sure that if we had taken those kids with our family to Disneyland or Paris, the outcome would not have been the same.
The combination of fun people, sitting around a fire, playing card games on a picnic table with a lantern instead of texting. Spending the day swimming, hiking and being in nature away from the distractions of the rat race lifestyle is a breath of fresh air to us. I do understand that not everyone feels that way, and that's OK. But I hope that gives you some understanding as to why some people do like camping.