Give Your Family What Technology Can’t | Erin Loechner, Author of The Opt-Out Family (Episode 241)
In our highly-connected digital world, many voices have come along to warn of the dangers of overindulgence in technology. While many encourage boundaries and moderation, Erin argues that opting out completely is a better way. Have you felt the pull to change your family’s relationship with technology? Before you think, “I could never do that,” give this episode a listen! Erin gently challenges us to craft the kind of family culture where technology cannot compare to the joy of real life.
In this episode, we cover:
- The decision-making process that led Erin to her current philosophy on screen usage
- Digging into some of the practicals of living a less connected life
- The surprising way your relationships may be impacted by leaving social media
- Taking an honest look at the moderation mindset around the online world
- Giving your family something to reach for, not just something to run away from
- Navigating a screen-free life with your kids
- How the cultural landscape is changing in regards to technology
- Will restricting your kids’ screen usage cause them to overindulge in the future?
- How parents’ desire to keep tabs on their kids may not be healthy
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Resources Mentioned
Video tutorial on how to turn your smart phone into a dumb phone
The Opt-Out Family by Erin Loechner
More free resources for the opt-out family
Connect
Erin Loechner | Website
Lisa Bass of Farmhouse on Boone | Blog | YouTube | Instagram | TikTok | Facebook | Pinterest
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My spouse and I appreciated some elements of the interview with Erin.
I was, I’ll admit, put off by the narrow definition of “technology” as though the term only refers to the very small application of digital, personal technology that was in the main focus of this interview.
The dumbing down of society certainly concerns us – just today, I met a 10-yo kid who has never untied a knot even on a shoe. So it definitely caught my attention when Lisa mentioned that she grew up without technology.
I’m a good bit older, and even we had pencils, paper, books, fabrics, footwear, horse saddles, airplanes, automobiles, engineered road surfaces, lumber, concrete, architecture, A/C, electric lights, medication, cook stoves, skillets, fuels and the means to acquire fuels, agriculture and the means to prepare food for cooking or storage, and, well the list of examples of various technologies that existed in my youth and even before I was born is essentially as extensive as the history of people applying knowledge to achieve practical goals.
I cannot imagine that anyone in the last, say, six thousand years has survived a week without the use of some form of technology. Can we say “cordage”? Yet, I frequently hear people use the term as though “tech” is only something new, something of the contemporary generation.
If it isn’t just simple-minded ignorance or poor education that has led to the fallacy that “tech” means smart phones, digital screen-electronics, digitally-connected social platforms, or web-based services, perhaps it’s just that the modernists are as contemporary-centric as they seem. It already seems that the generation is overrun by the arrogant, self-centered, narcissistic, and megalomaniac. Now people speak as though the technologies of the age are the only things that qualify as technology.
Finally, if someone doesn’t know what I mean by “arrogant, self-centered, narcissistic, and megalomaniac”, just look for an “influencer” for an example. Show me someone who claims to be an influencer, and I’ll show you someone to be weary of, if for no other reason than they think too highly of themselves.
Please, let us educate ourselves and our children to be better than ignorant, arrogant and easily influenced (i.e. manipulated).
Where is the audio?