Clare Morell is a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center and director of its Technology and Human Flourishing Project. She is also the author of the book, The Tech Exit: A Practical Guide to Freeing Kids and Teens from Smartphones. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Fox News, the New York Post, First Things, Bloomberg News, National Review, Newsweek, The Hill, National Affairs, The Federalist, The American Conservative, Public Discourse, WORLD Magazine, American Affairs, The Washington Times, and The Daily Signal. Morell frequently consults with legislators on technology policy and has helped draft legislation to protect children online, as well as put out resources for schools on how to go phone free. She lives with her husband and three children in Washington, D.C.
Workshop
The Tech Exit: A Practical Guide to Freeing Kids and Teens from Smartphones
In this workshop, Clare Morell will offer an overview of her recently released book, The Tech Exit: A Practical Guide to Freeing Kids and Teens from Smartphones (Penguin Random House, June 2025) with practical takeaways for parents and educators on how to free kids from the harms of digital technology and to recover the beauty, wonder, and true purpose of childhood. The Tech Exit maps a doable pathway to freedom from digital technology for families, schools, local communities, and society. Drawing on dozens of interviews with experts and with families who have gone tech-free, as well as Morell’s own work as a policy expert, The Tech Exit shows how digital technology is anything but necessary for children to live happy, healthy, and socially full lives and walks through the core commitments families should adopt to opt out of these technologies for their kids. The book also offers practical steps for schools to create a phone-free, low-tech learning environment and culture amongst their families, as well as actions for policy makers to take to help parents opt out successfully.