I'm a 30 year old mom of 2 little ones who remembers purchasing my own pink Razr phone with my odd job savings in 7th grade after convincing my parents via a PowerPoint presentation, holding out until 11th grade for the iPhone my friends had. There were no cool apps yet, and social media on your phone (to my recollection) wasn't anything much. A screen-free young childhood certainly gave me the ability to compare life with a screen in my pocket and life without - but I still experienced the pitfalls of addictive screens and social media, despite being a comparatively "light" user!

I consider myself pretty savvy on the destructive nature of screens, having deleted social media years ago and still finding myself unwillingly in YouTube rabbit trails. But even still, I would say this book is absolutely indispensable to any parent of any age child today. It clearly painted the picture of what this tech is doing to our children, more than I even knew. Even more important would this book be to the generation of grandparents who don't seem to differentiate iPad/iPhone/smart TV usage from us being plunked in front of a cable show when we were 12. There was SO much in this book I didn't realize about screens, and it prompted great discussions with my family and my husband.

What I love about this book is that it's not judgmental, but it absolutely has a stance. The author's end goal isn't to get you to throw away screens and tell your kids they're scary and evil, nor is it to pretend we live in a time before all of this technology. Her goal is to step back from the norm of thinking (When should I get them a smartphone?) and instead to shape your family with deeper questioning (What does getting a smartphone do to my family?). What do you do instead of screen time? How can I compete with the lure of TikTok and the "social" fitting in at school? Do you even know what you're doing when you hand a child a smartphone? What do you want your family life to look like?

It's equally informative and inspiring, and I have recommended it to all of my mom friends. I want my son and daughter to grow up without being guinea pigs for the profit of strangers who don't have their best interests at heart. I want them to grow up feeling loved, affirmed, healthy, and full of joy. After reading this book, I've got a better grasp on how to navigate this hugely important issue. Thank you, Erin, for writing this!! You have paved a path for me to not only protect my children's hearts, but to nourish them as well.

How does an author follow her 2017 New York Times Best Selling book, Chasing Slow? By diving into authentic living, deeply observing the world around her, and birthing yet another beautiful, groundbreaking title into this world: The Opt-Out Family.

I am a longtime fan of Loechner's writing and have experienced reflection and developed wisdom from her penned words over the years. Upon hearing about the release of The Opt-Out Family, pre-ordering was a must. When the book arrived, I dove in - cover to cover - knowing that Loechner's writing style would be like the voice of an old friend (Quick note: I'm not an affiliate! Just a genuine fan.).

I was happily surprised, however, by Loechner's thorough research into our era's reality of the virtual world, paired with her brave battle cry against Big Tech's hold on humanity. The Opt-Out Family is packed with a multitude of tech topics that affect every family - Siri, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, iPads, smart phones, Snapchat, Mega, Google, ChatGPT4. Loechner pulls the curtain on each influence, refusing to shy away from our exponentially growing truth: WE are increasingly becoming the product (dare I say victim?) in an ever-growing, pocket-lining tech landscape, and if we allow the 'status quo' of tech's influence to come to its' fruition, our future is grim.

The most powerful aspect of Loechner's take on tech is her reminder that HOPE and LIFE are still ours for the taking. The Opt-Out Family is a tangible roadmap for families, a transforming 'playbook' on how to reclaim real living within the walls of our homes and beyond. Loechner's voice not only echoes our concerned voices, but moreover, The Opt-Out Family provides a wealth of education, foundational research, and tangible steps toward taking action in our families, and in our world.

My guess is, you will not see Loechner promote this book on social media. She believes in (and stands by) her words in this book... an author who practices what she preaches. How refreshing!

With that in mind, not only do I recommend you purchase, read, and gift (multiple copies of) this book to each of your beloved family and friends (and perhaps your local teachers, principals and school board), I also recommend you contribute in some way to the promotion of this book, lifting up to her grass-roots voice. Whether it be a published review or a simple conversation with a friend, your voice matters.

Just imagine... our 'battle cry' causing Big Tech's stronghold to become detangled. Imagine families looking up from phones and connecting face-to-face. Imagine neighbors getting lost in conversation. Imagine educators finally receiving permission to teach authentically (without the pressure of those dreaded tech initiatives). Imagine our teens feeling genuinely confident in themselves, no longer having to perform for an audience. Imagine our exploding mental health crisis becoming a thing of the past. Imagine our kids living out their childhood without a premature exposure to explicit content. Imagine our world leaders making legislative change on behalf of humanity.

How can a bright future like this possibly happen?

It starts with us.

I originally downloaded some free resources from the Opt Out family to use as part of our family's new year goal setting together. My tween kids do not have their own devices or access to social media (we have a family iPod for music and a family iPad for some game + educational apps) and my husband and I both ditched personal social media two years ago, so we thought we were gold -- and that we were ready to "ChatGPT" for our family's vision.

1. The first task on that worksheet included writing down how old everyone would be in five years and (this is tongue in cheek) I OBJECT! WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS TO PERIMENOPAUSAL MOTHERS EVERYWHERE! After my kids got excited about both being teenagers in five years, I had a full and total meltdown and we never finished the project together. There may or may not be video evidence of how hard I took this (my husband, who was feeling like taking a big risk, began recording when he realized I was not recovering). 🤣

2. THIS PROJECT WAS A GATEWAY DRUG TO THE WHOLE BOOK. A friend and I have been reading through the book and discussing various points and ideas. I have been challenged, inspired, convicted, and empowered. My husband and I keep wrestling through specific data and the impact our existing tech use has on the family. Even the strategies we have in place for tech in our homes, as good as I thought they were, are being revised and edited as we learn more. I am tremendously grateful to Erin and the team for their work in this area!

At this point, I am slowly becoming an opt-out family evangelist. I want my friends to not feel judged by me, of course, but the difference in my OWN kids as we've revised our boundaries and tech use is its own reward and evidence of the benefits of the changes we're making! We're learning to be free from tech, not in the sense that we don't use it at all, but in the sense that, as Erin wrote about, we are not MASTERED by it.

We can always keep learning and growing with it and I know we'll shift and change as new info comes out, as our kids grow, and so forth. But I am so thankful for all the research and work that went into this book and the resources here.

The Opt-Out Family did something for me that has been a long time coming: give me the kick in the seat of the pants that got me to actually quit social media.

That was two months ago after I read just the first few chapters.

I'm not exactly the target audience of this book, because I'm not a parent (yet). But the book gave me a lot to think about with a fresh, unique twist on the typical "be careful with your kids and technology" advice. The author walks us through what makes tech engaging/addictive and suggests practical, creative twists for how to harness the magic of engagement and apply it to the real world--for ourselves and our families.

What sets this book apart is that at the heart, it's not a cliche message of "tech is bad, stay away," but rather an appeal to the reader to believe in the beauty of life in the real world that is just waiting to be explored.

The author deftly wove statistics, prompts to reflect on, and vivid persuasive writing to capture the reader's heart. She has certainly captured mine, and this is a book I'll be pondering for a long time.

This book has been so eye opening in many ways! I am super thankful it came across my path! I would recommend it to every parent. Living in this world with so much tech it takes great wisdom and discernment to know how to navigate it and keep our kids safe. This book is so informative. I was blessed to grow up in the 1980's and I had a wonderful childhood WITHOUT a cell phone. When I wanted to call someone, I went to our one CORDED house phone to talk. Or I went outside and found a neighbor kid to play with. We'd rollerblade, or ride our bikes, or draw with sidewalk chalk, or play basketball, or find toads or worms, or pick dandelions, or splash in puddles, or see who could run the fastest, or visit the elderly neighbor lady who gave us candy, or any number of other things we found to do. It was great. I want that - or something as close as I can get like that - for my kids as they grow up. This book reminded me of what kind of childhood I want my kids to have. It also opened my eyes to some of the things online that I hadn't realized before and I am so glad I now know. I'm hoping to read it again with my husband and set some goals for how we want to handle tech in our home and with our kids. I want my kids to be kids. I want them to use their imaginations, to sometimes be bored (!), to read real books, to think their own thoughts, to learn new things in the real world in real time with real people, and to find what interests them, and what they're passionate about... I want them to play. I want them to know how to be present with the people in the room and make eye contact and hold a real conversation. I want them to build real and lasting friendships...not just getting "likes" or followers. I don't want them mindlessly scrolling, or falling prey to the many dangers online, or wasting their childhoods in front of a screen. I've highlighted so many portions of this book. And it's initiating real change in our home. Read it!!!

Easy to read and understand.

Okay book with ideas for how to get off the screen.

I'm old enough to remember the days before smartphones (or even cell phones) and have often dreamed of going back to those explorative, discovery-filled days. Well, they're not gone, not totally. We have control of our own families lives and can be a positive influence to our extended family and friends by saying no to the consumption of personal devices. This book gives plenty of reasons to give up or GREATLY reduce our use of personal devices. On top of the reasons why, they author also gives plenty of ways to live life without being tied to a personal device.

Two things that really impacted me from the book:

One: An opt-out teenager didn't want a phone, but wanted a friend without a phone. So very sad. I agree with the author that teenagers don't really want a social media life, but it's all they know. We as parents must show them that there is so much more gratifying and enjoyable in life than social media.

And two: As the author points out, even when I am not physically on my phone, my mind is. It has become increasingly difficult to separate myself from my phone. I have (even before reading the Opt-Out Family) been limiting myself to not getting on the phone until noon and not ever taking it to bed with me. Why have I been intentionally limiting myself??? Because even though I didn't want to admit it, I have a problem with using it too much. My children are young now, and I want to live in the moment with them and to show them how to live in real life as well. My solution, like any addict serious about overcoming an addition, is to get rid of it. I have ordered a flip phone and am going to completely ditch my iphone today! I'm thrilled!!! Now we just need to demand a flip phone that takes good pictures and that you can text on without hitting the number 5 three times. But as the author suggests, make a phone call instead of googling it and we can also make real human connections. I would like to argue that we are also likely to remember whatever information we were seeking if we receive it from a real live person rather than just the AI google response at the top of the search page.

P.S. I want an "Opt-Out Family" bumper sticker!!!

I really enjoyed this book. I have now deleted all my social media and am much happier for it - I'm definitely not missing much! Lots of insightful ideas and thoughtful projects.

This impacted the way I think about and use devices in our home. Very personal stories and helpful tips.

We’re the first generation of parents navigating through smart phones. We get one chance to raise our kids. Let this book inform you on what the purpose of ‘devices’ really is and get your family life back!