Your Tech Relationship

Welcome and thank you for being here.

“The prefrontal cortex shrinks the more often we are interrupted by disruptive tech like IM, email, social media.” - The Mindful Leader, 2018

If the above finding by researchers Rasmus Hougaard and Jacqueline Carter worries you even a bit, read on.

I’m Michelle Natalya Moore, and I created Your Tech Relationship for

• leaders, consultants, knowledge workers, innovators, creators

• parents and advocates of vulnerable children & youth.

Why? My backstory
I worked in tech transformation for most of my career. I loved developing the business case for adopting new tech and demonstrating all the wonderful things it would improve. New tech was always cool, positive and something we needed.

I didn’t realize tech could influence me in a negative way…. until COVID.

All of a sudden, I am sitting alone in front of a screen…ALL THE TIME. No more in-person workshops or meetings. Just Zoom after Zoom after Zoom.

I became a Zoom addict overnight, never rejecting an opportunity to be with others online.

My right hand, neck and back soon began hurting but I paid no attention. In July 2020, from one moment to the next, I couldn’t lift my right arm, AT ALL.

There was no fall, no injury, nothing. Just severe pain. Ultimately the diagnosis came….. repetitive mousing.

It took 3 months of physical therapy and a rest from online meetings and mousing to recover.

I started reading Cal Newport, Nir Eyal, Catherine Price, and others on overcoming the negative impacts of tech. It was clear that my problem was bigger than a non-functioning arm. I learned it’s negatively impacting my cognition and wellbeing, among other important things such as productivity, mental capacity and creativity.

But it was the thought of a shrinking prefrontal cortex that scared me the most.

I want to help people minimize the negative impacts of tech because I believe we can remain the masters of our tools and have a balanced life without all the busyness, digital overwhelm and risk of burnout.

More importantly, I want to help children & youth, who are most susceptible to the longer term negative impacts of tech. Here is some supporting data on that.

"Social media is a race to the bottom of the brainstem—who can trigger fear, anxiety, and outrage the fastest. That’s what’s being designed for children."
— Tristan Harris, The Center for Humane Technology

In 2020, The Center for Humane Technology released The Social Dilemma, the story of big tech and the business models that "give tech designers control over the way billions of us think, act, and live our lives”.

This month, May 2025, we have findings from multiple, respected research institutions that “Yes, Social Media Might Be Making Kids Depressed.”

Depression symptoms jumped 35% as kids’ average social media use rose from seven to 73 minutes daily over a three-year period. - University of California, San Francisco

This newsletter is about reclaiming your mental and creative capacity in a world that constantly chips away at it.

AND

it is about protecting the wellbeing and intellectual capacity of children & youth, especially the vulnerable.

Part of my job is to share research & resources that reinforce your motivation to act.

Together, we can enable the shift…from a machine-centered, reactive relationship with tech to a human-centered, intentional one.

Specifically, you will get

• Commentary on articles, podcasts, books, research from science & business journals

• Work design strategies to improve personal and team performance

• Examples about how I am creating an intentional relationship with tech

• Tips on how to create a culture, at work and at home, for mindful tech use

• Reflections for parents raising kids in the attention economy

• How we can help protect vulnerable children and youth from digital harms

• Insights on the new field of digital wellbeing

• Gentle nudges to help you pause, think, and reset

If you’re here to lead with intention—in your team, your household, your life—you’re in the right place. Let’s rethink our tech habits together. Not because we’re anti-tech. But because we’re pro-human.

Michelle
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