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Are you 100 percent thrilled with how your family uses technology? 

If you say no, then welcome to the club!

If your kids opted out of having a smartphone, social media and video games, would they be better or worse off? Imagine saying goodbye to parental controls, fights, and time limits. Today's guest Erin Loechner is the author of The Opt-Out Family: How to Give Your Kids What Technology Can't. As you can imagine, I love this book! Today's we're going to talk about: 

3:00 What an “opt-out” family looks like

5:00 Why is social media so dangerous for children?

10:43 What the algorithm of social media does

14:10 The burden of social media on girls

21:00 Does having a smartphone truly help your child in their social life?

23:30 How can we “opt-in” to other things as we “opt-out” of social media? 

27:10 The main concerns with AI

29:45 Why easier is not better

Erin Loechner is a former social media influencer who walked away from a million fans to live a low-tech lifestyle and is now teaching others to do the same. She's been featured in the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Huffington Post, the Today Show. Erin is the founder of the global tech-free movement the Opt-Out Family.

Learn more about Erin Loechner and her book (which launched with no social media of her own), The Opt Out Family: How to Give Your Kids What Technology Can't. https://www.optoutfamily.com/

Learn how to dumb down your smartphone https://www.optoutfamily.com/tip/

Read Arlene's book Screen Kids (co-authored with Dr. Gary Chapman)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0802422209/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0802422209&linkCode=as2&tag=arlenpelli-20&linkId=837f2447fde5b4a57b13b75b78236083

Have a question for Arlene to address on the podcast? Please email Arlene your questions and the topics you want covered on the show! [email protected]