Be honest: even with all the wonderful communications innovations in the last decade—smartphones and endless apps that make your life “better”—you’ve found yourself struggling to make sense of it all, questioning what is appropriate use of these technological wonders for yourself and, perhaps more importantly, for your children.
We have more means of communication than any time in history, yet we are becoming increasingly less connected with each other and the ones we love.
We have become too comfortable with modern technological devices, specifically our phones and tablets. And there doesn’t seem to be widespread awareness that our growing dependence and addiction to constantly being “plugged into” our devices is a profound problem.
But in the 60 minute presentation Detoxing You and Your Family From Tech, Dr. John Cuddeback offers us hope and a way to moderation that will open up a richer life for ourselves and others.
Borrowing from principles employed by drug- and alcohol-addiction recovery, Dr. Cuddeback sets forth a plan of detoxification through:
1. Recognizing there is a problem and evaluating its severity
2. Identifying means to stabilize—to get and keep the problem under control
3. Planning for a brighter future when we are no longer ruled by the “comfort” of our devices
As Dr. Cuddeback puts it, “The problem (poison) is not fundamentally about the content we consume on technology but how technology shapes the basic habits and structure of our daily lives—habits of thinking, of reflection, of conversation, and other human interaction."
He outlines eight steps to make a plan for you and your family to foster positive technology habits and not always be "plugged in."