Log On, Log Off: Finding Balance on the Internet

By Kat La Mantia | March 8 2023 | AdultsChildren'sGeneralAllBlog

Doomscrolling, avalanches of app notifications, the almighty algorithm: sometimes it feels impossible to just put your phone down, even when you want to. Every part of the digital landscape is a battle for our attention, but we only have so much to give. The result? Utter exhaustion. And yet, it’s not like we can quit for good. We need to be online for work, school, keeping up with friends, staying up to date on the news. So how can we find a better balance?

There is a middle-ground between being a luddite and drowning in the endless depths of a TikTok for you page. With the books below, kids, teens, and adults can all learn how to form a better relationship with their devices. Whether you want to go full digital minimalist, or you just want to be able to put your phone down for a few stress-free hours per day, these books encourage thoughtful consumption, mindfulness, and provide the tools you need to achieve all of your tech-life balance goals.

How to Live With the Internet and Not Let It Run Your Life
978-1-922417-03-9
This book is a guide to living your life online, offering practical and sanity-saving tips to help you block out distractions and detractors.
$14.95 US
Mar 23, 2021
6-2/7 x 7-2/7
Hardcover
84 Pages
Smith Street Books

Tech-Life Balance
101 Ways to Thrive in a Digital World
978-1-57826-966-2
A look into all the ways we have been tethered by technology and how to fix it in 101 creative and strategic ideas.
$15.00 US
May 02, 2023
5 x 8
Hardcover
272 Pages
Hatherleigh Press

Log Off
Digital Detox for the Extremely Online
978-1-63217-411-6
Are you ready to take your life a bit more offline? With this life-affirming digital minimalism guided journal, reset your relationship with your phone and reconnect with yourself, focus on your IRL connections, and gain a happier outlook!
$14.95 US
May 17, 2022
5 x 7
Stationery & Accessories
128 Pages
Spruce Books

The Media and Me
A Guide to Critical Media Literacy for Young People
978-1-64421-196-0
From foundations in critical thinking skills to practical tools and real-life perspectives, this book empowers young adult readers to be independent media users.The Media and Me is a joint production of The Censored Press and Triangle Square Books for Young Readers.
$18.95 US
Dec 27, 2022
5-1/2 x 8
Paperback
272 Pages
Triangle Square
Age 13 and up

Black Internet Effect
978-0-593-38753-5
"This frank, spirited guide spotlights a thoughtful leader who embraces social responsibility." — KirkusWith witty humor and a strong sense of self, musician, model, and technology executive Shavone Charles recounts her journey through Google, Twitter, and more – and outlines her mission to make space for herself and other young women of color both online and IRL.
$8.99 US
Nov 08, 2022
4-3/8 x 6-1/4
Paperback
64 Pages
Penguin Workshop
Age 12 and up

First Phone
A Child's Guide to Digital Responsibility, Safety, and Etiquette
978-0-593-53833-3
A fun and informative illustrated kids’ guide to safely and productively navigating the digital landscape.
$15.00 US
Jul 26, 2022
5-5/16 x 8
Paperback
144 Pages
TarcherPerigee
Age 7 and up

ReThink the Internet
How to Make the Digital World a Lot Less Sucky
978-0-593-35282-3
Stop hate. Promote Kindness. Be an Upstander.ReThink the Internet.
$17.99 US
May 31, 2022
5-1/2 x 8-1/4
Hardcover
176 Pages
Philomel Books
Age 10 and up

The Tech Solution
Creating Healthy Habits for Kids Growing Up in a Digital World
978-0-7352-3956-2
A Harvard-trained psychiatrist and mom of three gives parents and educators the tech habits children need to achieve their full potential--and a six-step plan to put them into action.
$14.95 US
Aug 03, 2021
5-3/16 x 8
Paperback
320 Pages
Penguin Canada

The Big Activity Book for Digital Detox
978-0-593-08590-5
A hilarious, relatable twist on how to disconnect from our devices, with illustrated laugh-out-loud activities and journaling prompts.
$18.00 US
May 05, 2020
7-3/8 x 9-1/8
Paperback
160 Pages
TarcherPerigee

Tech Stress
How Technology is Hijacking Our Lives, Strategies for Coping, and Pragmatic Ergonomics
978-1-58394-768-5
Re-envisioning your relationship with technology to reclaim health, happiness, and sanity in a plugged-in world
$19.95 US
Aug 25, 2020
6 x 9
Paperback
400 Pages
North Atlantic Books

Keep Calm and Log On
Your Handbook for Surviving the Digital Revolution
978-0-262-53876-3
How to survive the digital revolution without getting trampled: your guide to online mindfulness, digital self-empowerment, cybersecurity, creepy ads, trustworthy information, and more.Feeling overwhelmed by an avalanche of online content? Anxious about identity theft? Unsettled by the proliferation of fake news? Welcome to the digital revolution. Wait—wasn't the digital revolution supposed to make our lives better? It was going to be fun and put the world at our fingertips. What happened? Keep Calm and Log On is a survival handbook that will help you achieve online mindfulness and overcome online helplessness—the feeling that tech is out of your control—with tips for handling cybersecurity, creepy ads, untrustworthy information, and much more.Taking a cue from the famous World War II morale-boosting slogan (“Keep Calm and Carry On”), Gus Andrews shows us how to adapt the techniques our ancestors used to survive hard times, so we can live our best lives online. She explains why media and technology stress us out, and offers empowering tools for coping. Mindfulness practices can help us stay calm and conserve our attention purposefully. Andrews shares the secret of understanding our own opinions'' “family trees” in order to identify misleading “fake news.” She provides tools for unplugging occasionally, overcoming feelings that we are “bad at technology,” and taking charge of our security and privacy. Andrews explains how social media algorithms keep us from information we need and why “creepy ads” seem to follow us online. Most importantly, she urges us to work to rebuild the trust in our communities that the internet has broken.
$24.95 US
Apr 28, 2020
7-1/4 x 9-1/4
Paperback
368 Pages
The MIT Press

Digital Lethargy
Dispatches from an Age of Disconnection
978-0-262-04711-1
The exhaustion, disappointment, and listlessness experienced under digital capitalism, explored through works by contemporary artists, writers, and performers.
$24.95 US
Oct 04, 2022
6 x 9
Hardcover
288 Pages
The MIT Press

Off: The Day the Internet Died
A Bedtime Fantasy
978-3-7913-8687-4
One day all the screens went dark--and we couldn't even post about it.
$15.00 US
Mar 23, 2021
8-1/2 x 6-1/2
Hardcover
32 Pages
Prestel

Digital Minimalism
Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World
978-0-525-53651-2
"Newport is making a bid to be the Marie Kondo of technology: someone with an actual plan for helping you realize the digital pursuits that do, and don't, bring value to your life."--Ezra Klein, VoxMinimalism is the art of knowing how much is just enough. Digital minimalism applies this idea to our personal technology. It's the key to living a focused life in an increasingly noisy world.
$30.00 US
Feb 05, 2019
5-1/2 x 8-1/4
Hardcover
304 Pages
Portfolio

How to Break Up with Your Phone
The 30-Day Plan to Take Back Your Life
978-0-399-58112-0
A smart, irreverent guide that draws from addiction and neuroplasticity research to present a concrete action plan for breaking your phone addiction and approaching technology's role in your life more mindfully.
$13.99 US
Feb 13, 2018
5 x 7
Paperback
192 Pages
Ten Speed Press

Doug Unplugged
978-0-375-85921-2
A robot discovers that the real world is more fun than the virtual world!
$8.99 US
Mar 08, 2016
8 x 10
Paperback
40 Pages
Dragonfly Books
Age 5-9 years