Does your phone put you to bed at night and wake you up in the morning? How often do you actually touch and hold your phone each day? Could you be addicted?

Your phone isn’t just a tool anymore—it’s a slot machine in your pocket, custom-built to hijack your brain’s reward system. And for the first generation of true digital natives (today’s teens and twenty-somethings), the consequences are hitting harder and earlier than any of us “digital immigrants” ever imagined.

In this episode, Austin Conner, MDiv, PLPC has a broad ranging interview with Luke Simon, newly hired co-director of Crossing Student Ministry, a published author, and an extremely wise and insightful GenZ-er. 

Luke gets brutally honest about his double life—real-life Luke who felt anxious and insecure, versus “Luke3Simon” online who was always crushing it—and how deleting social media, going full airplane-mode, and even leaving his phone in the car became his personal rehab. He also explains why the phone isn’t the real problem—it’s the escape hatch from a painful, boring, or broken reality.

Austin and Luke discuss the nature of the digital landscape, what apps and dynamics contribute to phone addiction and specific advice to parents about how to help themselves and their kids navigate the ever changing digital terrain.

After listening to this episode we hope that you will look up from the dim glow in the palm of your hand and engage the real world in all its colorful beauty.

Further Resources

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