How to Break Up with Your Phone

Best-selling author and health and science journalist Catherine Price will share her expertise on the impact of a screen-based world and provide evidence-based strategies for reconnecting with parts of our lives that don't happen on a screen at 4 p.m. on Sept. 18 in the Student Center South Theater.

Hailed by The New York Times as the "Marie Kondo of brains," Price will discuss her book, "How to Break Up with Your Phone," a practical plan to transform your screen time from a distraction to a tool through customized changes that feel good and will empower you to regain focus, think deeply and form new memories. Her campus visit marks the kickoff of the "Rebooting Our Relationship with Tech" lecture series hosted by the Elizabeth D. Rockwell Center on Ethics and Leadership.

Award-winning science journalist, speaker and author Catherine Price is a leading voice in the national conversation about digital devices and how to create healthy relationships with technology. Her books include bestsellers "How to Break Up With Your Phone" and "The Power of Fun: How to Feel Alive Again." Price and her work have been featured in outlets including The Best American Science Writing, NPR, The New York Times, Good Morning America, The Wall Street Journal, Popular Science, The Los Angeles Times and TIME Magazine. She is also a former middle school teacher, a parent and a core member of the team behind Jonathan Haidt's New York Times bestselling book, "The Anxious Generation." She writes the popular Substack newsletter, "How to Feel Alive," and her TED talk on fun has been viewed more than 5 million times. In all her work, Price's goal is to help people of all ages scroll less, live more, and have fun.

The Elizabeth D. Rockwell Center on Ethics and Leadership's lecture series, "Rebooting Our Relationship with Tech," brings leading voices to the University of Houston campus to examine how digital tools, from smartphones and AI to algorithms and search engines, shape our connections, test our privacy and influence our democracy. The experts will challenge audiences to reflect on the ethical dimensions of technology's growth, convergence and potential for harm. 

Off-campus guests can park in the Welcome Center Garage (4434 University Dr., Houston, TX 77204). Enter the garage on Martin Luther King Blvd. The Student Center South is across the street. You can enter the Theater from the first floor of the building. 

Host or Publisher Hobby School of Public Affairs