1KHO 509: Dry Eye, Blinking Problems, and Digital Overuse: What You Need to Know (And Do) | Clare Morell, The Tech Exit

The 1000 Hours Outside Podcast

Ginny Yurich

Parenting, Kids & Family

4.9 • 1.8K Ratings

🗓️ 24 June 2025

⏱️ 59 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

What if your child’s screen time is causing permanent damage—and you don’t even know it yet? In this compelling episode, Ginny Yurich sits down with Clare Morell, public policy expert and author of The Tech Exit: A Practical Guide to Freeing Kids and Teens from Smartphones. Together, they unpack one of the most startling screen-related health issues facing kids today: chronic dry eye. Once seen only in the elderly, dry eye is now affecting children as young as eight—often irreversibly—due to reduced blinking during screen use. But it’s not just the eyes. Clare shares how digital overuse is quietly reshaping children’s brains, behavior, and even their ability to think original thoughts. From real-life stories of families who ditched devices to groundbreaking school policies and church youth group solutions, this conversation will leave you informed—and empowered. Whether you’re a parent, teacher, or community leader, you’ll come away with practical tools, conviction, and the clarity to lead differently in a screen-saturated world. 🔗 Get the Book: The Tech Exit 📥 Free Download – Discussion Guide for Parents: TheTechExit.com/discussion-guide 📥 Free Download – Practical Tips Sheet: TheTechExit.com/practical-tips A huge thank you to our sponsors! Check them ALL out below: Geviti: Visit https://www.gogeviti.com/1000hoursoutside for 20% off your first three months of membership! Active Skin Repair: Visit www.ActiveSkinRepair.com to learn more about Active Skin Repair and their commitment to 1% for the planet and use code: 1000hours to save 20% on all Active Skin Repair products Select Quote: Head to www.selectquote.com/1000hours to learn more. BetterHelp: Visit www.BetterHelp.com/1000HOURS today to get 10% off your first month. Fay Nutrition: Visit www.FayNutrition.com/1000HOURS to see if you qualify for a dietitian for $0 CRU: Visit give.cru.org/hour to sign up for a $24 monthly gift, and receive a free copy of Until The Streetlights Come On Reliefband - Get 20% off plus free shipping at www.reliefband.com/1000hours Quince - Visit www.quince.com/outside and get free shipping and 365 day returns Kaeluma - Visit jesusfilm.org/kaeluma-outside to listen, learn more, or access discussion guides and other bonus content! Acorns Early - Visit www.acornsearly.com/outside to learn more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	It's the cinematic event of the year.
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0:12.0	That sounds like a great movie.
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0:17.0	Oh yeah, I knew that.
0:19.0	Get two for one cinema tickets every Tuesday or Wednesday
0:21.8	with compares the market. Simple's. When you take out a qualifying product to compare the market,
0:26.2	one membership per year, participating cinemas, two standard tickets, only cheap as free. Tise and
0:29.4	C's apply. Welcome to the 1000 Hours Outside podcast. My name is Ginny Urge. I'm the founder of
0:34.1	1000 Hours Outside and I have just read a fantastic book, a very needed book.
0:39.6	It's called The Tech Exit, A Practical Guide to Freeing Kids and Teens from Smartphones. And the author
0:45.0	Claire Morrell is here. Welcome, Claire. Thanks so much for having me. This is a fantastic book.
0:50.9	You work in public policy, so you're dealing with screens all the time, but you
0:54.4	decided to write a book for parents so that they can make decisions maybe before the laws catch up,
0:59.5	because sometimes it takes a while for the laws to catch up. It just came out, the tech exit,
1:03.6	and I want to kick off with this because this is something I had never, ever heard of,
1:08.3	and every single person needs to know about it. It's called dry eye.
1:14.4	Tell us. Oh my goodness. Yes, this was actually the most shocking piece of research I came
1:19.5	across. So I interviewed an ophthalmologist, an eye doctor. And she explained to me, she was
1:24.2	seeing eight and nine-year-olds coming into her practice struggling with
1:27.7	chronic dry eye, which is normally a condition seen in 70 and 80-year-olds as you age.
	...

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