The Tech Exit

A Practical Guide to Freeing Kids and Teens from Smartphones

By: Clare Morell

Narrated by: Clare Morell

A road map to free your kids from the harms of digital technology and to recover the beauty, wonder, and true purpose of childhood—by a leading tech policy expert

It’s no secret that addictive digital technologies like smartphones and social media apps are harming a generation of kids socially, mentally, and even physically. But a workable solution seems elusive. After all, don’t kids need phones, and won’t they be vulnerable or socially isolated without tech?

Clare Morell, fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center and director of its Technology and Human Flourishing Project, argues that the answer is no. She exposes the lies parents have been sold about managing the dangers of tech through parental controls and screen-time limits, and demonstrates that another way is possible—even if your children are already using smartphones or social media.

The Tech Exit maps a doable pathway to freedom from digital technology for families, local communities, and society. Drawing on dozens of interviews with experts and with families who have gone tech-free, as well as Morell’s own work as a policy expert, The Tech Exit shows how digital technology is anything but necessary for children to live happy, healthy, and socially full lives.

The Tech Exit is essential listening for any parent who has felt stuck between an awareness of the dangers of digital technology for kids and the feeling that tech is necessary and inevitable. Clare Morell’s message is simple and compelling: You and your family can be free. The life you want for your children is within reach.

* This audiobook edition includes a downloadable PDF of the Appendix from the book.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2025 Clare Morell (P)2025 Random House Audio

Extreme stance, mediocre evidence

I pre-ordered the audiobook after hearing someone talk about it. But I went in skeptical after listening to Clare speak on a podcast. I loved The Anxious Generation and found it compelling and persuasive, I found this book to be the opposite. She gives very little scientific research, a lot of anecdotes and a very extreme, fear-based solution. I wish that the author cited sources but very rarely in the audiobook does she give her sources and they are definitely not in the PDF file that is attached. She does give a lot of resources but not evidence to back up her claims in the PDF. Most of her sources she does site are news articles and anecdotal stories. There are some good things to take away from this book, but you have to wade through a lot of rhetoric and fear mongering. Read with a grain of salt. Or skip it and read The Anxious Generation!