# Parenting in the digital age: Phone addiction and lost moments How technology affects the quality time we spend with our children - **Source:** [Business Insider](https://www.businessinsider.com) - **Published:** 2026-07-18 - **Topic:** [Career Growth](https://brifing.si/c/growth) - **Original article:** - **On Brifing:** https://brifing.si/s/9f163238-ec9c-45a6-a413-e7c6e116a5f4 ## The paradox of digital-age parenting The author thought the internet would make parenting easier, but realized technology maintains physical presence while causing mental absence. From children's perspective, there's no difference between a parent glued to a screen and one focused on work - both appear equally unresponsive. ## The math of lost moments The real regret lies not in big events, but in the small, ordinary minutes spent mentally half-present while staring at screens. These seemingly insignificant moments accumulate into years. The writer's 19-year-old son recalls having to repeat everything three times to get attention. ## The digital entanglement of work and family As editor of a family page, the author's children inevitably became content material. Writing radio scripts during naps, googling symptoms by the bathtub, never cooking without digital recipes... Digital life and parenting became inextricably intertwined in ways that eliminated true downtime. ## The intergenerational digital divide The author describes being homebound with a newborn and computer while friends lived in the real world. Online forums were the only 'room' with people awake at 2am. This early digital experience fundamentally changed parenting's nature in the social media era that followed. ## Physical presence ≠ Mental presence For children, it doesn't matter if a parent is on their phone or working - both scenarios yield the same lack of engagement. The author keeps recognizing herself in parents who can't look up from screens at school gates, physically present yet emotionally absent. ## Time you can't reclaim The author regrets not her career, but the mindless scrolling and reflexive screen-checking. Her adult children's words deliver a clear message: lost moments are gone forever. While schools debate phone bans, real change must start with parents' own device habits at home. ## Sources covering this story - https://www.businessinsider.com/phone-regret-parenting-screen-time-2026-7 — --- _Summary written by Brifing from the original reporting. Copyright in the original article belongs to its publisher; read the full piece at the link above._