Changing Our Minds: How Digital Technology Affects Our Children and Disconnects Us from Reality and from Each Other

by S. Kay Toombs

From the moment of birth, children in this society grow up in a home, social and educational environment permeated by digital technology. Ninety-five percent of teens are online, and an increasing number of infants under one year old now regularly use tablets and other mobile devices. What will this new technology-laden environment mean for our culture? Citing a wide variety of neurological, sociological and psychological research studies, this book considers the effects of this unprecedented change on the lives of the young, as well as detailing how these technologies are changing the way we think and radically altering our relationship with nature, with reality and with each other.

185 pages, Paperback

Published July 28, 2022

Reviews

[David Lyons · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author shines the light on the dark power of technology to cause a disconnect for children from reality, family, friends, and nature. She offers alternatives to digital technology to create a reconnection. I wonder how the book, updated in 2019, would be revised in 2023 to address AI, TicTok, Instagram, &c. My eyes were opened to how technology creep can deeply and negatively impact one's quality of life.

[Lydia Lim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super fast read and highly highly recommend to any and all parents!! Just make sure you read this with the mentality of wanting to change the world, not with a defensive, guilty conscious. We are all doing our best and this book will hopefully encourage you to continue doing your best with less (or no) screens!

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Broken down into two parts, this book shares a lot of statistical info (which can get a little overwhelming at first) but brings up good points in how we engage our culture with the saturation of technology in our society.

[Jeremy · Rating 4 out of 5]

You could save yourself some time and just read the last 15 pages. Everything before that is what we already know and hate about technology and social media. Still worth the read if you need a little extra motivation to turn off the screens and save the souls of your kids.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent! Necessary! Inspiring! Hugely recommended! A great reference for stats and anecdotes on the issue as well.

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

READ IT!!!

[Isabella Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read the revised for 2023 version. A lot of good information! The book makes many compelling arguments and draws on a lot of research. Even though the research choices/conclusions often came off as biased and one-sided, the book was inspiring nonetheless.