Balancing Tech and Childhood: Building Resilience in the Smartphone Age

The Coping Podcast

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.

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.