We are now several generations into digital living, several generations into learning to live with the constant presence of connected mobile devices. For most of us, it is rare that we are beyond the glow of a screen or outside the influence of an app. This is true of adults and, of greater concern, true also of children.
Clare Morell is a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, DC, and director of its Technology and Human Flourishing Project. Much of her focus has been on technology and the protection of children. But she is not only a policy professional—she is also a mother. It’s from these two perspectives that she has written The Tech Exit: A Practical Guide to Freeing Kids and Teens from Smartphones.
Morell’s book is meant to do exactly what the title says—to convince parents to free children and teens from smartphones. “Despite real challenges, your family can break out of the screen-time trap. I hope to convince you that digital technologies need not be an inevitable part of childhood. A different future is possible. It’s even possible to reverse course if you’ve already given your child a smartphone or social media and now regret it. I called this different path the Tech Exit, and this book is my invitation to you to embrace the kind of life you already want for your kids.”
The theory is simple enough: Children and younger teens do not need and should not have mobile phones or social media. They can live a better and fuller childhood if they are set free from such technologies. To that end, the first part of the book shows why it’s not enough to give phones to kids and expect them to use them in moderation. Put simply, “Harm reduction doesn’t work when it comes to screens.” Why? Because screen-time limits aren’t effective and parental controls don’t work. The strategies and tools parents rely on are not up to the task.
In the second part of the book, Morell explains how parents can reverse course if they have already given their children access to screen technologies and now regret it. This essentially involves a technology fast, a radical but necessary break from captivating devices and bad habits.
The majority of the book is given to a strategy for adopting and maintaining a Tech Exit lifestyle—“of resisting smartphones, social media, video games, and other screens for your children–for the long-term.” She uses the acronym FEAST to explain five necessary commitments—Find other families; Explain, educate, and exemplify; Adopt alternatives; Set up digital accountability and family screen rules; and Trade screens for real-life responsibilities and pursuits. Because her family is young and she and her husband have not yet had to fully implement the plan in their home, she relies on the experience and wisdom of families who have already made this kind of break with their tech.
I have often been grateful that I grew up in a pre-smartphone era and also grateful that my children grew up at least a bit ahead of the worst of it. I have great sympathy for parents who are navigating the challenges today and am hopeful that many of them will choose to adopt a Tech Exit kind of lifestyle. Morell’s book will provide a helpful explanation of the benefits of such a lifestyle and offer a trusted pathway to implementing it. I highly recommend that parents give the book a read and give the strategy a shot.
