242. Have phones displaced our ability to play and have fun? How to be intentional with your tech use with Catherine Price

After the birth of her daughter, Catherine Price noticed a disconnect—her baby was looking up at her, while she was looking down at her phone. This sparked her interest in understanding why our phones are so hard to put down, what that’s doing to our memory, creativity, and overall lived experience, and how we can break free from the grip of technology to live more intentional lives.

In this episode we explore:

- Catherine’s definition of fun: The overlapping of playfulness, connection, and flow. Plus, how understanding each can help us experience genuine fun that refills our buckets.

- When our jobs don’t have a clear start time and end time, it can become addicting to staying connected 24/7. Tune in for specific strategies to intentionally combat this.

- Catherine coaches Dr. Sarah through the relatable struggles she and so many parents experience when attempting to put down the phone (Sneak peek: it’s taken her 6 months to plug in the alarm clock she bought instead of using her phone next to her bed.)

- An easy first step people can take to cut the cord with their phone. 

- Strategies for when and how to communicate with your kids about screen time (that don’t cause them to shut down or feel defensive). Plus, how to break down the process of getting your kid their first phone into smaller steps that usher them more gradually into the digital world.

- Setting appropriate tech boundaries that honor your family's values while also taking into consideration how much of kids’ social lives are facilitated through technology today.

Listen now for insights and actionable tips to help you free yourself from your screens to have more fun!

LEARN MORE ABOUT CATHERINE PRICE:

https://catherineprice.com/

READ CATHERINE'S BOOKS:

📚 The Power of Fun: How to Feel Alive Again

📚 How to Break Up with Your Phone: The 30-Day Plan to Take Back Your Life

JOIN CATHERINE'S SUBSTACK:

📖 How to Feel Alive with Catherine Price

ADDITIONAL REFERENCES AND RESOURCES:

👉🏻 Click HERE to sign up for Dr. Sarah's newsletter to find out if she is able to complete Catherine’s challenge to take her phone out of her bedroom for the weekend!

🤳 Opal - The app Dr. Sarah said she uses to help her manage her screen time.

📱 ScreenZen, Brick, and Unpluq- Products Catherine recommends to help people manage their screen use.

📺 Watch Diane Sawyer's ABC News report, Screen Time

📳 Pinwheel, Gabb, and Troomi - Kid and teen phones Catherine mentions in the episode.

📚 Read The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt and the The New York Times essay, Gen Z Has Regrets by Jonathan Haidt and Will Johnson

CHECK OUT ADDITIONAL PODCAST EPISODES YOU MAY LIKE:

🎧 Regulation, reward systems, and rest: Rewiring the way our kids interact with screens with Alé Duarte

🎧 How play could be the key to mental health and well-being with Dr. Mike Rucker

🎧 What are the do’s and don’t for introducing screens to my toddler?

🎧 Helping our children form a healthy relationship to technology with Emily Cherkin