Create Healthy Technology Habits: 15+ Family-Friendly Resources
Create healthy technology habits in your life and in the lives of your children using these recommended family-friendly resources. With technology overload on the rise, an overwhelming number of adults are seeking resources for overcoming a technology addiction. At the same time, many parents are searching for resources that will encourage their children to create healthy technology habits from day one. Thankfully, family-friendly resources exist to assist one in creating healthy technology habits.
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8 Quotes to Inspire Healthy Technology Habits
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Self-Confessed Technology Addict
Some time ago, our family sat around the table to discuss the important topic of technology addiction. This conversation required deep humility on my part, considering I was a self-confessed technology addict.
Gazing sheepishly across the table at my young children, I confessed my technology addiction. I also apologized for allowing technology to negatively impact my relationship with them. Without hesitation, my children agreed that my overuse of technology was a problem. They then eagerly shared insightful ideas on how I might create healthy technology habits. Their suggestions included:
- Don’t use your phone when we’re in the room
- Only use your phone during certain times of the day
- Don’t carry your phone with you at all times
- Have tech-free days
I appreciated their suggestions and made plans to incorporate their ideas right away.
Will We Forget the Primary in Favor of the Secondary?
I’ve always loved this quote by E.B. White, author of Charlotte’s Web. He spoke of television and radio, but his words can easily be applied to many forms of technology:
“I believe television is going to be the test of the modern world, and that in this new opportunity to see beyond the range of our vision we shall discover either a new and unbearable disturbance of the general peace or a saving radiance in the sky. We shall stand or fall by television — of that I am quite sure.
Television will enormously enlarge the eye’s range, and, like radio, will advertise the Elsewhere. Together with the tabs, the mags, and the movies, it will insist that we forget the primary and the near in favor of the secondary and the remote.
When I was a child people simply looked about them and were moderately happy; today they peer beyond the seven seas, bury themselves waist deep in tidings, and by and large what they see and hear makes them unutterably sad.”
E.B. White
Is my use of technology increasing my level of happiness or making me unutterably sad? This question fills my consciousness on a regular basis, demanding an honest reply. Nevertheless, I hesitate to respond to the question because…well…the truth hurts. It hurts deeply.
Despite the painful truth and my desire to improve, the path forward–to healthier technology habits and more happiness–feels daunting and unclear.
Thankfully, a variety of resources have crossed my path over the years that have helped immensely when dealing (over and over again!) with technology addiction. (Let’s be honest, for many of us technology addiction is something that needs to be managed on an ongoing basis.)
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Family-Friendly Resources
Reading Hands-Free Mama by Rachel Macy Stafford many years ago was a game-changer for me. To be honest, I postponed reading the book for…ahem…years because I was terrified of the guilt it would place on my shoulders. I did not desire to feel additional guilt for prioritizing technology over my children. I am so relieved (and excited!) to share with you that ‘guilt‘ is the furthest adjective from my mind when it comes to describing the book, Hands-Free Mama. Instead, words such as ‘refreshing‘, ‘entertaining‘, ‘empathic‘, and ‘hopeful‘ come to mind.
Jam-packed with stories and experiences from her own life, Rachel shares with us her lowest moments and her hope-filled highs. She motivates, encourages, and inspires in ways that had me saying, “I’m ready to be a hands-free mama!’.
Her suggestions for connecting with your children in authentic ways will put a smile on your face and, if you’re like me, you’ll find yourself asking, “Why didn’t I think of that?” as you furiously begin planning tech-free activities in your head.
This book isn’t anything I thought it would be.
It is, in one word, ‘life-changing’.
Trust me! You will want to own your own copy of the book so you can highlight ideas, underline entire paragraphs, and take copious notes in the margins:
Hands-Free Mama
by Rachel Macy Stafford
A motivating and welcome invitation to put the phone down.
Giving Away Our Favorite Sin
More recently, I determined to address my ever increasing social media use. The True Millennial YouTube video, Giving Away Our Favorite Sin, inspired me to cut back on my mindless social media scrolling.
Inspired by the personal stories of the couple in the video, I immediately incorporated one specific suggestion from the video into my daily routine and experienced immediate improvement.
Much to my delight, I began reading more books, instead of spending my time scrolling. This one change reduced my anxiety significantly and immediately increased my productivity and happiness. My sense of wonder also increased as I became more present with my children.
Additional Family-Friendly Resources
Videos
In addition to my two favorite resources mentioned above, there are a variety of short videos that encourage healthy technology habits:
A Short Film About Phone Addiction | Caleb Shaw (YouTube)
Taking Charge of Technology: The Challenge (website video)
How To Get Rid Of Your Technology Addiction TEDx (YouTube)
I Forgot My Phone: Our Cultural Addiction To Phones (website video)
Jennifer Garner On Why Her Teens Aren’t On Social Media (3:30 mark in video)
Man Captures How His Phone Affects His Relationship With His Son (Facebook video)
Unplugged Minds: The Unseen Impact of Technology Addiction (4 Minutes) (YouTube)
The most compelling argument against tech in schools by Sophie Winkleman (YouTube)
Connect
Documentary featuring Kirk Cameron
Should social media be a rite of passage with kids? Explore more on this topic with Kirk Cameron.
Books
The following books dealing with internet, YouTube, gaming and phone addiction offer hope and come highly recommended:
Helpful Tips
- Decide beforehand how long you will permit yourself to be on technology, be it television, your phone, or another device.
- Surround yourself with a variety of activity options so mindless scrolling does not become a habit. Keep a book open on your phone, in your car, and at home. Read a paragraph or two each time you are tempted to return to unhealthy technology habits.
- Start a creative project to work on in the car between carpooling appointments or at home when you begin to feel restless. Whittling, writing, art, crochet , or other handicrafts are an ideal place to start.
- Be intentional about getting more exercise and spending time in nature. Keep your phone out of reach during these activities. Your mental health will thank you.
- Practice being present with those around you. Designate the dinner table a no-phone zone.
- Determine not to pick up your phone at red lights. Make it a practice to slowly and peacefully count your blessings until the light turns green.
- Begin or revitalize personal hobbies. Spend more time engaging in hands-on projects.
- Seek out ways to create meaningful in-person connections with others. Invite a friend over for tea, attend church or a community event, or seek out service opportunities in your community. Technology can never replace meaningful face-to-face connections.
We must model that which is virtuous and lovely by our personal media choices. We must take care that the media we invite into our homes does not dull the sensitivity to the Spirit, harm relationships with our family and friends, or reveal personal priorities that are inconsistent with gospel principles. By example we can help our children understand that spending long periods of time using the Internet, social media, and cell phones; playing video games; or watching television keeps us from productive activities and valuable interactions with others.
Mary N. Cook
Conclusion
In May 2014, a man by the name of John Lamb shared the following insight:
“Can you imagine living forever? What are you going to do? Get up in the morning and watch the tenth-million Super Bowl on TV? Eat your four-hundred fifty-seventh pepperoni pizza? Really? What are you going to do for all those billions of years? Whatever it is, it will be an extrapolation of what you spend your time doing now. Now is the time to lay the foundation for eternity. We’ve just got to divest ourselves of the idea that eternity is something we face after we die. Eternity isn’t tomorrow; it’s now.”
Friends, will we permit the negative aspects of technology to play center stage in our lives, and in the lives of our children, as we lay the foundation of our eternity? Or will we choose to prioritize what we deem to be important and start today to create healthy technology habits?
The answers to these questions are for each of us to decide, beginning this very moment.
Questions to consider:
How has striving to overcome technology addiction blessed you and your family?
What are your favorite resources for addressing technology addiction?
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