A Practical Guide to Freeing Kids and Teens from Smartphones, by Clare Morell

by Marie Tiemann

Is a Smartphone on your child’s Christmas wish list?   If so, I’m sure it’s difficult to refuse when a child says, “but all my friends have one, and I’ll be left out.”

Prior to your purchase, I highly recommend reading a new book that will help you make this important decision. “The Tech Exit: A Practical Guide to Freeing Kids and Teens from Smartphones” by Clare Morell.   

Clare is an Essex High School graduate, a Georgetown University graduate, and she is a leading tech safety expert.   She is a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center and director of its Technology and Human Flourishing Project.   Clare maps out how to free kids from the harms of digital technology and to recover the beauty, wonder, and true purpose of childhood.   Children learn through exploration, creativity and fun.   

From the inside cover: “The Tech Exit maps a doable pathway to freedom from digital technology for families, local communities, and society.  Drawing on dozens of interviews with experts and with families who have gone tech-free, as well as Morell’s own work as a policy expert, The Tech Exit show how digital technology is anything but necessary for children to live happy, healthy, and socially full lives.  

        The Tech Exit is essential reading for any parent who has felt stuck between an awareness of the dangers of digital technology for kids and the feeling that tech is necessary and inevitable.  Clare Morell’s message is simple and compelling: You and your family can be free. The life you want for your child is within reach. “  She explains in detail how the parental controls do not work and the physical harms that children have experienced from the use of smartphones.    

I’m encouraged by the announcements of events in our communities for parents and kids to get together to discuss decreasing screen time and technology usage.   I believe you’d find “The Tech Exit” to be a helpful aid.  Clare lays out how to FEAST: 

F: Find other families
E: Explain, Educate, and Exemplify
A: Adopt Alternatives
S: Set up Digital Accountability and Family Screen Rules
T: Trade Screens for Real-Life Responsibilities and Pursuits

I’ve truly enjoyed reading the book to discover these practical steps and hearing the positive life-changing testimonies of families who have adopted the principles to decrease screen time. The book is available at local bookstores.     I hope many parents and grandparents will run to purchase this book and form groups with other parents to help each other decrease children’s screen time.   Just imagine a community of kids laughing and playing outdoors more often.   

You can follow Clare’s work at: claremorell.substack.com