The Analog Family: Interview with Katherine Johnson Martinko

analog, adjective.

1. something that is similar or comparable to something else either in general or in some specific detail : something that is analogous to something else.

analog, noun.

1. not digital : not computerized.

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Analog technology (things like clocks, dimmer switches, speakers, microphones, walkie-talkies, thermometers, etc.) are directly related to the function which they are performing. They are, in other words, simple.

You talk into a microphone - you hear a sound. You look at a clock - it tells the time. You set an alarm - it rings. There’s not too much of a gap between experience and function.

Digital technology, however, is incredibly complex. Smartphones, robotics, AI, cyber security systems, computers - all these things do not necessarily have direct relations between their uses and their functions. They are not analogous. Instead they are the result of a billion computations and numbers very few of us understand. Who can even try to explain the way the winding digital world works, where I press ‘send’ on this newsletter and it finds its’ way to your inbox? There’s no tinkering here. Only complex systems, data, and abstraction.

Needless to say, the human brain works in analog. Our brains are wired to understand input-result-repeat. The human voice is analog. Our voice box vibrates, makes a sound, and voila, speech. Simple, beautiful, miracle. So what happens when we disrupt these natural analog ways of being, infusing our very centered, embodied selves with a confusion of digital data? Well, the results aren’t great. Not for kids, but not for adults either. Spikes in anxiety, lack of knowledge retention, memory issues, focus problems, the list goes on and on. Here to help us make sense of it all is someone I have admired for quite a long time here on Substack.

Maybe you encountered

Katherine Johnson Martinko

when she was a featured publication on Jonathan Haidt’s Substack,

After Babel

, or maybe you’ve read her book, "Childhood Unplugged: Practical Advice to Get Kids Off Screens and Find Balance.” Or maybe you’ve discovered her Substack,

The Analog Family

, a publication so chockfull of practical and convicting wisdom regarding kids and screens I just want to share every single essay she publishes. If you haven’t ‘met’ Katherine yet, I’m delighted to introduce you to her.

Katherine Johnson Martinko

is a Canadian writer, author, and mother of three. She has worked as a journalist and editor for more than a decade. Her first book, "Childhood Unplugged: Practical Advice to Get Kids Off Screens and Find Balance," came out in July 2023. Shortlisted for the Foreword Indies 2023 Awards and with several translations in the works, it has been well-received by readers around the world who are desperate for a solution to their kids' screen time habits.

Martinko makes regular appearances on TV, radio stations, and podcasts across Canada and the U.S., as well as in-person presentations around the country, to talk about curbing digital device use. She writes about digital minimalism, parenting, travel, food, and more in her popular and fast-growing email newsletter, The Analog Family. She has a new weekly column in the Globe and Mail, Canada’s premier newspaper.

In this podcast discussion we cover the practicalities of life as an analog family, what drives Katherine’s decisions around screen use and her family, how she’s raising analog teens in a digital world, and why parents need to get honest with themselves about their own screen use in order for there to be any real change for kids. She also has really good advice for how to reel back on screen use for your kids if it has gotten too out of control. It’s never too late!

Although all this talk of screens and the immense cost it has on our lives and our kids can be heavy, ultimately this is an incredibly positive discussion. When we give up our obsession with our phones, we’re free - to have experiences, to adventure through life as a family. This is about liberation, discovery, and reclaiming our lives.

I hope you enjoy and I would love to hear any thoughts in the comments! Are you an analog family? Would you like to be? Please share!

And special thanks to my daughter, Jojo, for her introduction to this podcast episode.

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