Hi. I’m Julie.
I am a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in private practice in Westlake Village, California and am the Mental Wellness Expert at the Four Seasons Westlake Village’s Center for Health and Wellbeing. I started this website in 2023, when I began hearing conversations around the school, soccer field and local parks, about the inevitability of purchasing smartphones for our kids- who are in still elementary school.
I decided to offer some in person workshops showing the data as to why it is a good idea to delay the first smartphone and have boundaries around technology use in general. I’ve been doing these ever since AND have joined with local parents who feel the same way as a local MAMA Chapter. Join us!
I am not immune to the pull of technology. I had a digital reckoning in my own life after having my daughter almost seven years ago, when I noticed that I was constantly distracted by news updates.
I was so angry after consuming news, so I decided to try a ‘detox’ of sorts, cutting everything out except one 10- minute podcast reporting the top three daily stories.
I felt immediately lighter, less distracted and irritable, which created a curiosity in me that I wanted to pursue.
I then decided to take a break from social media. Once I stopped looking at everyone else’s lives, I was able to see the beauty of my own with new clarity. I also discovered that I had an additional 2 hours in my day in which to be productive or do something I actually enjoy. I’m now back on as a way to grow community around this issue, and am able to use these platforms in a healthier way.
It hasn’t been that long that we’ve even had these devices.
Remember taking the phone — that was attached to the wall —off the hook for dinner?
We all deserve moments without the world charging into our homes. We deserve a break from stimulation, a break from the incessant chatter of others so that we can hear our own inner voice and the voices of our loved ones, both of which are imperative to our health, success and happiness.
