The Tech Exit – A Practical Guide to Freeing Kids and Teens from Smartphones by Clare Morell
Book review by Jackie Beach
Digital technology is ubiquitous in the Western world. Computers and smartphones have taken over the world of communication in multiple ways. This technology has brought amazing advances in photography, travel directions, document transmission, and many other areas of life. However, the tech world has also brought significant challenges to mental health, time management, relationships, and much more. The Tech Exit, written by Clare Morell, seeks to address this issue of how to live in the tech world in a responsible and healthy way. Morell gives concrete reasons and studies which support her line of reasoning.
The Tech Exit is primarily written for parents who want their children to thrive in a society immersed in technology. Should parents give smartphones to their children with no limits or controls? Or should parents not allow their children to have smartphones until the children are grown? Or should parents allow children to have non-smartphone alternatives? Morell believes that the best results for the children, the family and society are achieved by no smartphones for the children until they are adults.
The book discusses many studies and life experiences of families who are trying to navigate this issue. One essential aide for families in not allowing children to have smartphones is to find other families who are doing the same thing. Support from other families is crucial in managing the social pressure that children feel to “belong.”
The Tech Exit also briefly talks about adults and their use of technology. For example, in the Appendix at the end of the book, there is a section called: Healthy Technology Use for Adults. This section is followed by another section called: Healthy Tech Habits.
I recommend this book because it has both academic research as well as family experiences which support the main argument of the author. We read in Ephesians 5:15-16, that we are to make the best use of the time God has given us. The Tech Exit provides a clear framework for achieving a God-glorifying use of the technology that He has given to us. This book is available in hardcover and also as an audiobook. There are also many interviews on YouTube with Clare Morell on the topic of The Tech Exit.
Clare Morell is a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center and director of its Technology and Human Flourishing Project. She is also a wife, mother and a member of an evangelical church in Washington, DC.
