Smartphone Nation: Building Digital Boundaries When Offline Isn't an Option
Kaitlyn Regehr, PhD
Oct 2025 · Penguin Random House Audio · Narrated by Kaitlyn Regehr, PhD
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infoThis book will become available on October 28, 2025. You will not be charged until it is released.
About this audiobook
Outsmart your screen.
For readers of The Anxious Generation who want to know what to do next, this transformative guide to setting boundaries and establishing healthier habits around tech will help us all live better—both online and off.
“Smartphone Nation equips us with the practical tools needed to build a healthier, happier future for ourselves and our kids.”—Daisy Greenwell, co-founder of Smartphone-Free Childhood
Dr. Kaitlyn Regehr—a celebrated researcher and professor of digital humanities—explains how we can hold on to the myriad benefits of technology while evading their hidden dangers. We are all using (and parenting around) a technology we didn’t grow up with; it makes sense that we feel overwhelmed. In Smartphone Nation, Regehr explains how these technologies work, giving you the power to change the way you (and your family) use your devices. Regehr proposes a new, food pyramid–like framework for understanding and improving our digital consumption. Some tech, like nutrient-dense food, is good for us; it is vital in our lives. But so much of what we consume via algorithms is like candy that rots our teeth: it’s disastrous for our wellbeing. Regehr’s groundbreaking research reveals how we can reclaim control and maintain a healthy digital diet.
Essential reading anyone who knows there’s more to life than staring at a screen—or who wants to raise children who believe that, too—Smartphone Nation shows how to:
• Navigate the attention economy, which prioritizes engagement at all costs
• Improve your digital nutrition for better mental health
• Spring clean your viewing experience
• Game the algorithm
• Catch misinformation
• Parent your children in the digital age
Thoughtful, clearsighted, and empowering, Smartphone Nation is essential reading for anyone who owns a phone.
For readers of The Anxious Generation who want to know what to do next, this transformative guide to setting boundaries and establishing healthier habits around tech will help us all live better—both online and off.
“Smartphone Nation equips us with the practical tools needed to build a healthier, happier future for ourselves and our kids.”—Daisy Greenwell, co-founder of Smartphone-Free Childhood
Dr. Kaitlyn Regehr—a celebrated researcher and professor of digital humanities—explains how we can hold on to the myriad benefits of technology while evading their hidden dangers. We are all using (and parenting around) a technology we didn’t grow up with; it makes sense that we feel overwhelmed. In Smartphone Nation, Regehr explains how these technologies work, giving you the power to change the way you (and your family) use your devices. Regehr proposes a new, food pyramid–like framework for understanding and improving our digital consumption. Some tech, like nutrient-dense food, is good for us; it is vital in our lives. But so much of what we consume via algorithms is like candy that rots our teeth: it’s disastrous for our wellbeing. Regehr’s groundbreaking research reveals how we can reclaim control and maintain a healthy digital diet.
Essential reading anyone who knows there’s more to life than staring at a screen—or who wants to raise children who believe that, too—Smartphone Nation shows how to:
• Navigate the attention economy, which prioritizes engagement at all costs
• Improve your digital nutrition for better mental health
• Spring clean your viewing experience
• Game the algorithm
• Catch misinformation
• Parent your children in the digital age
Thoughtful, clearsighted, and empowering, Smartphone Nation is essential reading for anyone who owns a phone.
About the author
Dr. Kaitlyn Regehr is a world-renowned expert on the cultural impacts of social media. She’s an Associate Professor and the Program Director of Digital Humanities at University College London. Dr. Regehr appears regularly in the media as an expert on this subject, including on BBC News, ITV, BBC Women’s Hour, Channel 4 and in The Economist. She is a prominent voice in the media, a key influence in public policy circles, and a mother of two.
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