Technology and Family Communication: Tech vs Talk with Mary Catherine
- Assistant
- Jan 26
- 3 min read
Technology is everywhere. It’s in our pockets, on our tables, and often in our children’s hands. While it promises convenience, entertainment, and connection, many families are noticing something else quietly happening beneath the surface: disconnection.
In this episode of The Power of Family, we sit down with Mary Catherine to explore a question many families are asking but few feel confident answering: how is technology really impacting our children, our relationships, and our homes?
This conversation isn’t about blaming parents or demonizing technology. It’s about understanding what’s happening, why it matters, and how families can respond with intention and care.
When Screens Replace Conversations
One of the biggest challenges families face today is not a lack of love, but a lack of presence. Mary explains that many of the conflicts she sees in family therapy stem from screen use especially fights over devices and screen time.
Screens offer an easy escape. Human relationships, on the other hand, can be messy. They require patience, communication, and emotional regulation, skills children are still developing. When screens begin to replace face-to-face interaction, families lose important moments where these skills are learned, modeled, and practiced.
Dinner tables go quiet. Conversations fade. And without realizing it, families miss opportunities to pass down values, stories, and emotional connection.
What Screen Time Does to the Developing Brain
Mary Catherine walks us through how screen use affects the brain, especially for children and teens. The human brain isn’t fully developed until around age 26, and excessive screen time can interfere with how different parts of the brain connect, particularly areas responsible for decision-making, self-control, and problem-solving.
Screens activate the brain’s emotional and reward centers, producing dopamine spikes that feel good in the moment but can lead to overstimulation and stress. Over time, this can make it harder for young people to regulate emotions, focus, and engage in real-world relationships.
This isn’t just about behavior; it’s about brain development.
Youth Mental Health and Online Pressures
The episode also addresses rising concerns around youth mental health. Anxiety and depression among young people are increasing, and Mary Catherine shares how online comparison, bullying, and unsafe interactions contribute to this reality.
Social media often shows a curated version of life, making it easy for young people to feel like they don’t measure up. Online spaces can also expose children and teens to pressures and situations they aren’t emotionally prepared to navigate alone.
Parents may not always see what’s happening but that doesn’t mean it isn’t shaping their child’s inner world.
“A Phone in the Bedroom Is a Virtual Sleepover”
One of the most striking moments in the conversation is Mary’s comparison of unsupervised internet access to a “virtual sleepover.” When a child has a device in their bedroom overnight, parents often have no idea who they’re interacting with, what they’re seeing, or what pressures they’re facing.
This simple reframing helps parents see online access through a new lens, not as a small convenience, but as a significant boundary that impacts safety, sleep, and emotional well-being.
Sleep, Learning, and Emotional Regulation
Another key theme is sleep. Sleep isn’t just rest, it’s when the brain stores information, regulates emotions, and restores the body. Screens before bed interfere with sleep quality by disrupting natural hormone cycles, making it harder for children (and adults) to focus, learn, and stay emotionally balanced the next day.
When children are overtired, they’re more likely to struggle with attention, mood, and behavior. Healthy sleep habits become one of the simplest but most powerful tools families can use to support brain health and connection.
Moving Toward Solutions, Not Shame
What makes this conversation different is its focus on solutions. Rather than simply saying “less screen time” Mary shares practical ways families can heal and reconnect:
Prioritizing face-to-face conversations
Creating clear, consistent technology boundaries
Spending time outdoors and moving together
Protecting sleep by reducing screens before bedtime
Building supportive communities with other families
These aren’t quick fixes. They’re lifestyle shifts rooted in awareness, compassion, and shared responsibility.
A Message of Hope for Families Struggling with Technology and Family Communication
Technology isn’t going away and it doesn’t have to destroy connection. As this episode reminds us, families can adapt, set boundaries, and rebuild closeness in ways that support healthy development and emotional safety by creating a balanced use of technology and improving family communication.
Change starts at home. One conversation at a time.
🎧 Listen to the full episode, Tech vs Talk, on The Power of Family.
If this conversation resonated with you, consider sharing it with another family navigating the same questions and start a dialogue that brings connection back to the center.
Subscribe so you don’t miss future episodes, and share this with someone who’s trying, quietly, sincerely to heal their family from the inside out.
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