Balancing Tech and Childhood: Building Resilience in the Smartphone Age

Dr. Lisa Novak is the Co-founder and Clinical Director of Illuminate Psychological Assessments. As a licensed clinical psychologist, she specializes in neuropsychological assessments for children, adolescents, and young adults and supervises other licensed and pre-licensed clinicians in their assessment work. Her areas of expertise include learning disabilities, ADHD, and the interplay between physical and mental health concerns. Dr. Novak earned her Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology.

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:

• [00:00] Introduction
• [3:18] Dr. Lisa Novak talks about the anxious generation
• [6:49] The four main harms of consistent smartphone and social media use in children
• [19:33] The challenges of delaying smartphone and social media use in communities with prior access
• [33:29] What can parents do to model healthy phone use for their kids?
• [46:22] Forming a collective approach to delaying smartphone and social media access
• [50:40] Must-read resources for parents worried about kids and screens

In this episode…

In today’s digital age, many parents find themselves struggling to balance their children’s screen time with their emotional well-being. With smartphones dominating daily life, how can we help kids develop resilience, strong social skills, and healthy habits both online and offline?

According to clinical psychologist Dr. Lisa Novak, the secret is mindful technology use. She explains that excessive smartphone use, especially in younger children, has been linked to increased rates of anxiety, depression, and social isolation. She highlights that over-parenting in real life while under-parenting online creates a dangerous gap, where children are overprotected in person but left vulnerable to the addictive nature of social media. If remained unchecked, this balance can lead to impaired attention, sleep deprivation, and difficulty building real-world connections.

In this episode of The Coping Podcast, Dr. Leigh Weisz speaks with Dr. Lisa Novak, Co-founder and Clinical Director of Illuminate Psychological Assessments, about the challenges of balancing tech and childhood. Together, they explore how smartphones and social media impact emotional development, how delaying screen time can improve resilience, and how parents can model healthier tech habits. Dr. Novak also gives advice on creating screen-free environments at home and fostering real-world independence.

Resources Mentioned in this episode

• Dr. Leigh Weisz on LinkedIn -   / leigh-neiman-weisz-psyd-4b92455  
• Coping Partners - https://copingpartners.com/
• The Coping Podcast - https://copingpartners.com/podcast/
• Dr. Lisa Novak on LinkedIn -   / lisa-novak-illuminate  
• Illuminate Psychological Assessments - https://www.illuminateneuropsych.com/

Special Mentions
• The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness by Jonathan Haidt - https://www.amazon.com/Anxious-Genera...
• CATCH (Community Action Together for Children's Health) - https://catchiscommunity.org/
• Ask Lisa Podcast - https://drlisadamour.com/resource/ser...
• Michelle Winterstein - https://copingpartners.com/our-clinic...
• Chasing Childhood - https://chasingchildhooddoc.com/
• Screenagers - https://screenagersmovie.com/
• Let Grow - https://letgrow.org/
• Common Sense Media - https://www.commonsensemedia.org/

Related Episodes:

• “Parent Guide To Helping Your Anxious Child (Plus Magic Tip To Avoid 3 Hours of Tuck in Time)” with Dr. Eli Lebowitz on The Coping Podcast - https://bitly.cx/qPKWfw
• “Technology Addiction in Kids & Teens: HELP!” with Ben Kessler on The Coping Podcast - https://bitly.cx/J01Nl
• "[Webinar Series] From Discomfort to Discovery: Encouraging Child Development at Camp" with Michelle Winterstein on The Coping Podcast - https://bitly.cx/pLNwg
• “[Webinar Series] Digital Detox and Independence: Transformative Benefits of Overnight Camp for Kids” with Michelle Winterstein on The Coping Podcast - https://bitly.cx/3ehd
• “The Importance of Neuropsychological Assessments for Children With Dr. Lisa Novak” on The Coping Podcast - https://bitly.cx/PGttCT

Sponsor for this episode...

This episode is brought to you by Coping Partners.

Coping Partners is a mental health practice dedicated to helping children, adolescents, and adults manage various challenges including anxiety, divorce, behavioral issues, relationship problems and much more in the Chicago suburbs.

Our practitioners are devoted to building on our clients’ strengths and bolstering weaknesses.

To gain insight and tools for getting unstuck check out our website at CopingPartners.com, email us at [email protected]