Published January 12, 2026
I was thrilled to read Peco and Ruth Gaskovski’s review of my book, The Tech Exit (“Become A Low-Tech Family,” December 2025). I’m encouraged every time I hear of a family who has lived out a Tech Exit lifestyle themselves, testifying to the fact that it is realistic and possible.
They are right to point out that if anything is unrealistic, it is the conventions of contemporary parenting. It’s true that I don’t get into addressing these deeper cultural shifts in parenting, which certainly impact how parents approach technology for their kids. And while I understand that a low-tech lifestyle will resonate more with parents who are more traditional or authoritative, as the Gaskovskis suggest, I didn’t want to let “gentle parents” off the hook either. All parents, regardless of parenting style, have non-negotiables, and the book aims to persuade every kind of parent that cutting out interactive screens and smartphones should be added to their list of non-negotiables.
As a Christian myself, I deeply respect and agree with how the Gaskovskis are looking to ground The Tech Exit in a worldview that gives primacy to the domains I am recommending, namely, real relationships and pursuits in the real world. And I wholeheartedly agree that the primary imperatives to love God and love others are what should motivate Christians to reject technological innovations that interfere with these imperatives. When I speak to religious audiences, I always conclude by saying, the “Tech Exit is not the end goal in itself. It is a means to pursuing true human flourishing, the end which is ultimately found in a relationship with God and with others. We were made to know and love God and to love others made in his image. This is our highest calling. Reclaiming true human flourishing is the far greater task ahead of us, of which the Tech Exit is just one critical step on this path to true joy and fulfillment.”
Why, then, did I not explicitly write that statement in the book? Because while the Tech Exit is an opportunity for Christian people to exhibit a different way of life evangelistically, we must also remember that people of other faiths are no less suspicious of this new technology. In one sense, the technology is against any faith in the transcendent. I wanted to speak to people of all faiths and even no faith, while at the same time hoping that Christians would be able to fill in for themselves how The Tech Exit helps them live out the primary imperatives of their faith. The Gaskovskis’ review models perfectly just what I was hoping Christians would conclude and apply from my book.
Clare Morell is a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, in the Bioethics, Technology and Human Flourishing Program. She is also the author of the award-winning book, The Tech Exit: A Practical Guide to Freeing Kids and Teens from Smartphones, published by Penguin Random House. Prior to joining EPPC, Ms. Morell worked in both the White House Counsel’s Office and the Department of Justice, as well as in the private and non-profit sectors.
