Reclaiming Our Attention

Smartphone Nation: Why We’re All Addicted to Our Screens and What You and Your Family Can Do About It
Dr. Kaitlyn Regehr
Knopf Canada
August 12, 2025
$36.00 CAD

When Dr. Kaitlyn Regehr’s daughter was four, she wanted a cat named Unicorn for her birthday. Just before turning five, that wish shifted to a smartphone.  The moment feels light, but it says a lot. For many kids, the smartphone has become part of growing up; for adults, it’s a constant companion that’s hard to put down. That small scene captures the book’s purpose: to help readers see how deeply technology has shaped our habits and desires.

Regehr, the author of Smartphone Nation: Why We’re All Addicted to Our Screens and What You and Your Family Can Do About It, is a professor and researcher at University College London who studies algorithms, social media, online safety, and how digital environments affect young people. She’s also a parent, which makes her approach feel grounded. She writes not only as an expert but as someone personally affected by the systems she studies. Early on, she writes, “I began to reflect on my own phone usage, particularly around my children. I wondered if… I had begun to respond ‘just quickly’ to a few too many emails in front of my kids.” That self-awareness sets her tone as reflective, open, and human.

In a culture increasingly anxious about screen time, social media, and mental health — especially after the popularity of Netflix’s The Social Dilemma, a documentary that explores how tech companies design platforms to capture our attention and keep us hooked — Smartphone Nation helps readers make sense of the digital noise. Regehr connects the dots between algorithms, tech companies and advertisers, and the attention economy, explaining each in plain language before showing how they intersect. Despite describing smartphones as offering “viral nicotine” — an addictive feedback loop built on likes, shares, and endless scrolling — she refuses to position them as the villain. Instead, she argues that they’re tools requiring better literacy.

Her central metaphor, a “digital diet,” reframes our screen habits as choices we can evaluate. Some digital habits nourish us, like calling a friend or learning something new, while others, like mindless scrolling, drain us. Just as with food, balance matters more than avoidance. Regehr calls herself a “digital nutritionist,” guiding readers toward intentional rather than passive usage. By using frameworks like the “digital diet pyramid,” she offers a clear, familiar way to visualize our online lives. Education and learning form the base of the pyramid, while passive scrolling sits at the top, in the smallest category. The metaphor is simple but memorable.  

What makes Smartphone Nation effective is how it balances scope and simplicity. The book touches on many issues — from screen-time debates and the attention economy to disinformation, privacy, policy, and regulation — but it never feels overwhelming. Regehr organizes complex topics into digestible sections, turning what could be an intimidating conversation into one that feels manageable. She also tailors her guidance to a variety of age groups, offering tips for kids, teens, and adults.

Regehr writes for a broad audience, but her book will especially resonate with parents, teachers, and caregivers navigating how to raise children in a digital world. Still, her reflections on distraction, habit, and attention reach beyond family life. Adults who use smartphones daily and want to better understand their own digital behaviours will also find practical insight here.

Smartphone Nation is ultimately about agency. While the information Regehr presents can feel alarming, her goal isn’t to scare readers; it’s to make them aware. She invites readers to approach their digital lives with intention and reflection, offering not a cure but a clearer, more mindful way to live alongside their smartphones.