
DEEP DIVE: Gaia Bernstein on Gaining Control Over Addictive Technologies
From What Fresh Hell: Parenting, Relationships, and Making Life Better, with Two Funny Moms by Margaret Ables and Amy Wilson
July 20, 2026 · 33 min
About this episode
The episode features Gaia Bernstein discussing the impact of addictive technologies on screen time and parenting.
This month, our "Deep Dive" is into some of our past episodes about screen time: the effects it has on our kids, how tech companies engineer their devices to be as addictive as possible, and how we can allow our kids to enjoy screens with supportive limits. How do we untangle ourselves from technology? We give ourselves a hard time for not being able to put our screens down, but the platforms we use are designed to be addictive. It's not our fault. Gaia Bernstein's new book: Unwired: Gaining Control Over Addictive Technologies shatters the illusion that we can control how much time we spend on our screens by the force of willpower, timers, or yelling. Margaret and Gaia discuss: The psychological forces that make us keep scrolling What Big Tech and Big Tobacco have in common Why screen time limiters and other similar methods don't work Here's where you can find Gaia: https://gaiabernstein.com/ Twitter: @BernsteinGaia Buy Gaia's book Unwired: https://bookshop.org/a/12099/9781009257930 We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website…
People in this episode
Hosts: Margaret Ables, Amy Wilson
Guest: Gaia Bernstein
Topics covered
- screen time
- addictive technologies
- parenting
- technology limits
- mental health
Keywords
- screen time
- addiction
- parenting tips
- technology
- mental health
- Gaia Bernstein
- Unwired
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Big Tech, Big Tobacco, What Fresh Hell: Laughing in the Face of Motherhood
Books & works: Unwired: Gaining Control Over Addictive Technologies
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- Fresh Take: Laura Clery on Codependency, Co-Parenting, and Starting Over · July 10, 2026 · 43 min
- What Fresh Hell Is... Being the Only Grownup in the Room? · July 8, 2026 · 40 min
- DEEP DIVE: Susan Linn on How “Big Tech” Targets Our Kids · July 6, 2026 · 30 min
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