New Book Helps Families Escape the Smartphone Trap

June 3, 2025

The Tech Exit offers positive, practical, and possible solutions for parents of children and teens.

(Washington): Today, Clare Morell, a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center and director of its Technology and Human Flourishing Project debuts her first book, The Tech Exit: A Practical Guide to Freeing Kids and Teens from Smartphones with Penguin Random House. (256 pp. Forum Books, ISBN-10 059373629X)

The Tech Exit delivers parents a much-needed road map to free their kids from the harms of digital technology and to recover the beauty, wonder, and true purpose of childhood.

Clare Morell exposes the myths parents have been sold about mitigating the dangers of tech through parental controls and screen-time limits, and demonstrates that another way is possible—even if your children are already using smartphones or social media.

“As a mother of three, I know first-hand the challenges facing parents in today’s digital age. Social media and tech companies are getting kids addicted to their products early on. But the good news is that it is possibleto keep smartphones and social media out of childhood. Hundreds of parents have already made this exit. You can follow in their footsteps and join this growing movement of parents. And not only is it possible, but it is fundamentally positive, because on the other side of exiting digital technology lies a better future for our children, a future engaged in the real world and real-life relationships.– Clare Morell, Author, The Tech Exit

Drawing on dozens of interviews with experts and with families who have gone tech-free, as well as Morell’s own work as a policy expert, The Tech Exitshows parents it is never too late to reverse course on screens and maps a doable pathway to freedom from digital technology for families, local communities, and society over the long term.

The book has already received widespread praise:

“Finally, parents have dead-on and deeply human guidance on how to loosen tech’s vise grip on our kids. Read this book!”—Abigail Shrier, author of Bad Therapy

“Clare Morell’s timely book tells important truths, like this one: The world would be a better place, and our children would be better off, if most of us turned off our screens. The Tech Exit offers hope to every parent and serves as a stark reminder to everyone else that the online era is increasingly a nightmare for kids. I wish every member of Congress would read this book.”—U.S. Senator for Missouri Josh Hawley

“We know smartphones can be harmful to kids and teens, but what can we do about it? In this indispensable guide, Clare Morell documents the solutions that actually work.”—Cal Newport, author of Slow Productivity and Digital Minimalism

“The Tech Exit is a necessary and eye-opening wake-up call for parents. In one well-researched page after another, Morell shows that social media is not safe for kids, no matter what tech companies might promise. This book is a clarion call for parents and policymakers to finally understand how our children are routinely exposed to dangerous, violent, and pornographic content online. The only way is out, and this book shows parents how.”—Jean M. Twenge, PhD, author of Generations

“Clare Morell is a modern-day Rachel Carson, and The Tech Exit is our generation’s Silent Spring, issuing a compelling and clear-eyed warning about the deadly serious hazard we humans are exposing ourselves to in the name of what we thought was technological progress. The good news is that each family and community has the power to extricate itself from Big Tech’s toxic trap—and Morell has provided the road map out.”—Oren Cass, founder and chief economist of American Compass

***

Media Inquiries:
Hunter Estes
Director of Communications
Ethics and Public Policy Center
[email protected]