Ep. 358: Are Parents (Finally) Ready to Fight Smartphones?

Deep Questions with Cal Newport

Cal Newport

Technology, Self-improvement, Education

4.8 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 23 June 2025

⏱️ 62 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Back in 2023, Cal gave a detailed deep dive that described the three phases of scientific understanding of smartphones, social media, and kids. In today’s episode, Cal argues that we’ve entered a fourth phase; one that will finally lead to (perhaps rapid) cultural changes about what we think is appropriate when it comes to these tools and kids. He then answers listener questions and describes a recent book he enjoyed in his new WHAT TO READ segment.

Transcript

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0:00.0	I'm Cal Newport, and this is Deep Questions, the show about cultivating a deep life in a distracted world.
0:22.3	I'm here on my DeepWork HQ. I'm here my Deep Work H.Q.
0:24.3	I joined, as always, by my producer, Jesse.
0:27.5	Jesse, I got to take credit for something, a little bit of credit.
0:30.4	What do we got?
0:31.0	So I've been on a long trip.
0:33.1	Every day that I was away on this trip to the West Coast, the Washington Nationals lost an 11 game losing streak,
0:41.1	one away from tying the franchise record for losing streaks.
0:44.1	I get home late last night.
0:46.0	Today, first day back,
0:48.2	front of the show, Brad Stolberg's in town with his son.
0:50.1	I was like, let's go to the ballparks.
0:51.1	We go to the game.
0:51.7	First day back, break to a losing streak.
0:55.2	James Wood, walk off home run, victory, 4 to 3 in the 11th inning.
1:02.6	I think I got to take some credit.
1:03.9	Now, let me be fair, right?
1:06.6	I think James Wood gets a good amount of credit.
1:11.4	He hit every run, hit in every run of the game.
1:14.9	So I'm going to give him like 65% of the credit.
1:18.6	I think I get the other 35, though.
1:20.3	Clearly I broke the losing streak.
	...

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