Welcome to a special episode of the Breakpoint podcast. I'm Maria Bear with the Colson Center for

Christian World View. And today I am joined by Claire Morell. She is a researcher and an advocate for

children's rights with the Ethics and Public Policy Center. And if you've seen her name floating around the internet lately, it's because she has a new book

out that is making waves in a really, really good way.

It's called The Tech Exit, a practical guide to freeing kids and teens from smartphones.

So we're so excited to talk with you today, Claire, about some of the research

you did going into this book and some of the ideas you have for families who might want to make

a tech exit. So thank you so much for being here with us. Yeah, thank you for having me on. Happy to be

here. Now, you're a young mom. Tell me how old your children are. Yeah, so we have three kids.

They are five, three, and one and a half. So we have littles. old your children are. Yeah, so we have three kids. They are five, three, and one

and a half. So we have little. Oh, you are in the thick of it. How fun. Well, that's so great.

One of the things I really appreciated about this book, and we're going to get into some of your

recommendations as well as your research, is that you spoke to so many families who have kids with ages all across

the spectrum, which I think is so helpful. Sometimes we can get caught up. I mean, I'm a mom myself.

My kids are nine and six. And so right now I'm hyper focused on what they need at this time in their

lives. But as you kind of pointed out in this

book, the world of digital technology as it is right now is affecting kids of all ages, from the

time they're born to going to college and beyond. Why did you feel like now was an important

moment to write this book? Yeah, I felt like it was an important moment because increasingly,

I felt like parents were aware of the harms of smartphones and tablets and social media,

but there was no practical resource out there telling parents that it is possible to not give

smartphones and social media to your kids at all. And so I wrote that book because I realized

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