Tech-Free Sunday: Family Edition

Photo by Helena Lopes on Unsplash

I swear, I don’t enjoy torturing my family. But sometimes, things need to change.

Way back in 2019, in the land-before-COVID, I embarked on a tech-free challenge. Inspired by a friend, I committed to going tech-free for 24-hours each week.

I maintained this habit for several months, saw tangible benefits, and had planned to continue the practice for the foreseeable future. Then COVID hit, and like so many other aspects of our lives, this too was upended. Suddenly, I was on screens more than I’ve ever been in my life, if not to work, to obsessively check case counts, hospitalizations, anticipated next steps. We were binge watching TV shows with the kids, trying to keep everyone distracted during what was a very overwhelming, so-many-unknowns moment. We used screens to soothe (and cookies; so many Trader Joes cookies).

Fast forward five-ish years, and now both of our teenagers have cell phones (with limited use / strict parameters / no social media), and both love to play video games online with their friends. We set limits on screen usage as it is, but still, we’re all on screens every day. I am certainly guilty of both doom scrolling and using Instagram to find humor (and thankfully, it delivers).

But let’s be honest. We spend too much time on screens. We don’t intentionally take breaks. With our phones…