The hidden science addicting kids... stealing childhood

“It’s just a game”… “Social media is how kids talk today”… “Online video is just like TV”

If these claims are true, why can’t kids look up from their screens? Why are children and teens turning their backs on family, school, the outdoors, and all things real world to live on phones and video game players?

Richard Freed, a child and adolescent psychologist, reveals why in his book Better Than Real Life, as he unveils Silicon Valley’s secret science of persuasive design. The psychological science is so powerful that it is able to persuade youth, at a genetic level, that sitting sedentary on playtime screens is better than running and playing, better than engaging with school, better than spending time with family. The result is a tragic public health crisis for kids.

Dr. Freed—who has devoted his career to exposing what’s hiding behind kids’ screens and who has been featured in the New York Times and Wall Street Journal—asks a crucial question: “Who’s protecting the kids?” He shows that leading “health based” institutions, which claim to shield children, are actually funded by industry and promote unsafe screens.

Parents and others who care for youth need the truth about the impact of consumer tech on kids and how to provide them healthy and happy lives. Freed uncovers how a small group of tech-involved parents is rejecting the push to put kids on screens to instead provide their own children a science-based childhood focused on real-life activities.

Better Than Real Life shows how you can provide your kids the healthy lives they need—in the real world. Get the book today.