The book Rule Your Tech (So It Won’t Rule You) centers on three big ideas drawn from an immense number of studies, current neuroscience and deep biblical moorings.
These guiding ideas have been deeply impactful for my family and me, and for the CAFO team as well, and I trust they’ll be impactful for you, too.
1. Attention.
Over time, where we direct our attention will form us more than any other choices. Little by little, these seemingly insignificant choices profoundly shape our relationships, our effectiveness in work, and (quite literally) the person we’ll become.
2. Tech devices.
Our devices are masterfully designed to seize attention. So unless we actively set boundaries, they will always take more. Simply put: we must rule our devices, or they will have their way with us.
3. Small changes with big impact.
Myriad studies find that our devices are harming us more than we realize — driving anxiety, eroding focus and diminishing relationships. But research also reveals that even modest shifts in our tech habits can yield huge benefits.
One 2025 study highlighted in the book found that participants who reduced their smartphone use experienced truly remarkable gains … in just two weeks. They experienced:
- Notably increased feelings of well-being and happiness
- Reduced markers of anxiety and depression — with an effect equal to a series of anti-depressants
- Boosted measures of capacity for focus, equivalent to a reversal of 10 years of aging!
These benefits came at no cost and without side effects. Or rather, there were side effects … and they were all good. These included participants reporting better sleep, improved relational quality, more time outdoors and physically active, and increased self-control in other areas of life.
We can choose
Yes, our devices do offer marvelous gifts of efficiency, information, communication and more. But they also carry immense hazards. The very good news is that as we choose to rule our technology — deciding where we’ll receive its many gifts and where we’ll say, “Not here!” — we can regain vital gifts we may have thought were lost forever, including our capacity for focus, a calm heart, and greater richness and pleasure in the people around us.
Those gifts, in turn, are of immense consequence to the life and ministry to which God calls us. They enable us to love and lead well — from guiding an organization to building a family, from our own spiritual vitality to all that we pour into the person He sets before us.
– Jedd Medefind is the president of Christian Alliance for Orphans and author of the new book, Rule Your Tech (So It Won’t Rule You).
Interested in more research like this?
Rule Your Tech (So It Won’t Rule You) helps you flourish in an age of digital distraction with biblical wisdom, neuroscience and practical habits that reclaim attention and set life-giving boundaries around technology. Also available in Spanish!
The post Three potent ideas at the heart of Rule Your Tech appeared first on Christian Alliance for Orphans.
