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Illuminating Human Connection
Navigate Family Technology explores the modern family’s dilemma of how to help children thrive without letting technology consume them, focusing on topics such as communication struggles, social media traps, empathy loss, anxiety, and sleep disruption. Did you find anything in your research of this story that surprised you?
I learned so much while researching the book, I’ll try to narrow the answer down to a few!
- That most Modern Tech executives strictly limit their family’s tech-use time and send the kids to low-tech schools
- The number of online predators actively working every day
- The amount of information we take in daily compared to 20 years ago
- The staggering number of hours of screen time displaces connection and well-being activities
What were some ideas that were important for you to share in this book?
My mission is about illuminating human connection in a disconnected modern world. Technology is one of the key drivers of this. We are often alone together on individual devices.
I also found it important to cover technology’s impact on empathy and distress tolerance.
What is one thing that you hope readers take away from Navigate Family Technology?
That overuse of technology is not our fault. Or our kids’ fault. But now that we understand the problem, it’s our responsibility to be intentional about it. And that we can do it – we have so much living to do and real-world connections to make.
Author Links: GoodReads | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | Website | Amazon
Modern tech is an invaluable resource though its rapid development has created downsides. Nora provides accessible strategies to live our tech lives with intention rather than constant reaction mode. The content inspires hope for connection and comfort in knowing we do not face tech challenges alone.
Entertain a quest to level up your knowledge of modern tech’s influence and explore how to navigate its challenges
Navigate Family Technology: A technology roadmap for families with ideas to navigate uncharted waters
Navigate Family Technology is a clear-eyed, heartfelt guide to raising kids in a world ruled by screens. Author Nora Duncan O’Brien lays out the modern family’s digital dilemma: how to help children thrive without letting technology consume them. Through chapters that blend research, personal stories, and practical advice, she explores everything from communication struggles and social media traps to empathy loss, anxiety, and sleep disruption. The book reads like a roadmap for parents who feel lost in the constant hum of notifications and the tug-of-war between connection and control. It’s as much about reclaiming calm as it is about setting boundaries.
I found myself nodding along at every mention of the “magnetic pull” of devices. O’Brien doesn’t wag her finger or preach, she levels with you like a friend who’s been there. I appreciated how she backed her advice with science but kept her tone real and warm. Her writing has rhythm and heart, and you can feel her genuine concern for kids and families in every line. Some chapters, especially those about online predators and the permanence of digital mistakes, made me pause and feel a lump in my throat. She’s not just talking about technology, she’s talking about childhood, safety, and the kind of presence that screens quietly steal from us if we’re not careful.
There’s something brave about the way O’Brien admits she’s learning right alongside us. She owns her mistakes and turns them into lessons without ego. I loved how she weaves humor into serious topics, it makes the heavy stuff easier to sit with. Her practical ideas for setting boundaries, encouraging empathy, and helping kids “embrace boredom” actually feel doable. The mirror she holds up to our tech habits is unflinching.
I’d recommend Navigate Family Technology to any parent, teacher, or even older teen who’s trying to understand why screens feel so irresistible. It’s a wake-up call for families trying to find balance in a hyperconnected world. If you’ve ever found yourself scrolling through your phone while your child talks to you, this book will make you want to put it down and really listen. It’s wise, gentle, and full of heart, a rare mix in a world that’s usually shouting advice at us from every glowing screen.
Pages: 222 | ASIN : B0DZF9VL27
LITERARY TITAN 