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Catherine Price - How To Make Room For Fun

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Dec 29, 2025

Guest

Catherine Price

Catherine Price, an award-winning health and science journalist and bestselling author, joins Kenneth Schlenker to discuss her new book, The Amazing Generation. They explore the vital role of fun in our lives and how digital distractions hinder genuine connections. Catherine shares insights on the components of true fun—playfulness, connection, and flow—and offers practical tips to infuse more joy into daily routines. They also highlight the alarming trends among youth regarding smartphone use and the potential of phone-free environments in schools.

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insights

INSIGHT

Phones Drain Real-Life Fun

Phones and digital distractions are the primary blockers of real-life fun and connection.
Catherine Price argues reducing phone use restores presence, laughter, and human connection.

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ANECDOTE

Guitar Class Sparked Real Joy

After reducing her phone use, Catherine found empty time and joined a guitar class to fill it.
Playing music with others gave her a buoyant, sustained energy she later identified as fun.

insights

INSIGHT

Three Elements Define True Fun

True fun is the overlap of playfulness, connection, and flow.
Fun is deeper than light pleasure and creates treasured, present memories.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Alone Time and Why It Matters

01:26 • 52sec

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How Fun Became a Focus

02:19 • 3min

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The Three Elements of True Fun

05:44 • 2min

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Practical Tips to Make More Fun

07:45 • 3min

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Phones Drain Energy and Disrupt Fun

10:58 • 2min

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Why We Wrote The Amazing Generation

13:05 • 3min

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The Rebel's Code: Use Tech as Tool

16:05 • 3min

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How to Speak Directly to Kids

19:28 • 4min

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What Kids Already Know About Apps

23:28 • 2min

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Explaining the Attention Economy to Teens

25:11 • 2min

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Phone-Free Schools and Cultural Shift

26:53 • 3min

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Opal in Schools and Practical Implementation

29:26 • 1min

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Common-Sense Approach Over Trials

30:46 • 3min

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Parents' Role and Modeling Behavior

33:47 • 4min

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Practical Roadmap for Kids' Phones

37:34 • 3min

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Warning Labels and Social Norms

40:56 • 2min

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Create In-Person Friendship Opportunities

• Mentioned in 4 episodes

The Amazing Generation

How to Choose Fun and Freedom in a Screen-Filled World

Jonathan Haidt

Catherine Price

#630

• Mentioned in 45 episodes

How to Break Up with Your Phone

Katherine Price

#1149

• Mentioned in 30 episodes

The Power of Fun

How to Feel Alive Again

Catherine Price

In this book, Catherine Price makes the case that 'True Fun'—defined as the combination of playfulness, connection, and flow—is crucial for our well-being. She weaves together scientific research and personal experience to reveal the mental, physical, and cognitive benefits of fun. The book provides a practical, personalized plan to help readers achieve better screen/life balance and incorporate more fun into their lives without feeling overwhelmed. Price argues that by prioritizing True Fun, individuals can become happier, healthier, more productive, and less stressed, ultimately leading to a more fulfilling life.

#3474

• Mentioned in 12 episodes

Ten Rules for Raising Kids in a High Tech World

Jean Twenge

#12

• Mentioned in 389 episodes

The Anxious Generation

Jonathan Haidt

In 'The Anxious Generation', Jonathan Haidt examines the sudden decline in the mental health of adolescents starting in the early 2010s. He attributes this decline to the shift from a 'play-based childhood' to a 'phone-based childhood', highlighting mechanisms such as sleep deprivation, attention fragmentation, addiction, loneliness, social contagion, and perfectionism that interfere with children’s social and neurological development. Haidt proposes four simple rules to address this issue: no smartphones before high school, no social media before age 16, phone-free schools, and more opportunities for independence, free play, and responsibility. The book offers a clear call to action for parents, teachers, schools, tech companies, and governments to restore a more humane childhood and end the epidemic of mental illness among youth.

#985

• Mentioned in 33 episodes

iGen

Why Today's Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy—and Completely Unprepared for Adulthood

Jean Twenge

In 'iGen,' Jean Twenge analyzes the cultural changes affecting today's teens and young adults, born after 1995, who are the first generation to spend their entire adolescence in the age of smartphones. The book draws from nationally representative surveys and in-depth interviews to document how technology has influenced their socialization, mental health, attitudes toward religion, sexuality, and politics. Twenge argues that this generation is distinct due to their extensive use of technology, which has led to increased levels of anxiety, depression, and loneliness, as well as changes in their developmental pace and social interactions. The book is divided into chapters that explore various themes, including the impact of internet use, changes in social behaviors, mental health crises, and shifts in religious and political attitudes.

#10761

• Mentioned in 4 episodes

Vitamania

How Vitamins Revolutionized the Way We Think About Food

Catherine Price

Opal CEO Kenneth Schlenker interviews Catherine Price about her upcoming book The Amazing Generation. In this wide-ranging conversation they discuss the importance and power of fun, how digital distractions take away your ability to live and connect, and some practical advice on how to live a fulfilling life that's not hijacked my phones.

About Catherine Price

Catherine Price is an award-winning health and science journalist, speaker, and founder of the Screen/Life Balance movement. She’s a bestselling author whose work helps people rethink their relationship with technology and find more joy and presence in life. Her books include How to Break Up With Your Phone, The Power of Fun, Vitamania, and the forthcoming The Amazing Generation (co-authored with Jonathan Haidt). Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Slate, Popular Science, and more, and her TED talk on fun has been viewed millions of times.

About The Amazing Generation

The Amazing Generation: How to Choose Fun and Freedom in a Screen-Filled World is a new book for kids and early teens (roughly 9–12) co-authored by Catherine Price and Jonathan Haidt. Inspired by Haidt’s The Anxious Generation, it’s a handbook for living a happy, adventurous life that isn’t dominated by screens. The book mixes surprising facts, interactive challenges, a graphic-novel style, and real stories from young adults to help readers build confidence and choose a life full of fun and connection, not distraction. It’s set for release on December 30, 2025.

Links & Resources

The Amazing Generation

Catherine’s Substack

Catherine’s website

Catherine's Instagram & YouTube

Download OPAL today.

Use code OPAL for 15% off printable workbooks and courses at catherineprice.com

Use code OPAL to get 15% off an annual subscription on Catherine's Substack: https://catherineprice.substack.com/170067b0.

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