In Part 1, Andrew Hempe explained what he gained from growing up without smartphones or video games. In Part 2, he answers the questions parents and teens ask him most.
Andrew starts by admitting the obvious: he did miss out on some things—easy access to pornography, the anxiety and depression tied to social media, and screen addiction itself. His point: not all missing out is bad, and there's a real difference between protecting a child from permanent harm and sheltering them from healthy difficulty.
He also walks through what happened when he finally got a smartphone after high school, on his own terms, as a tool rather than a "toy." No social media. No gaming console. Because the habits, hobbies, and delayed-gratification mindset were already in place, the phone never became a crutch.
From there, Andrew tackles the arguments parents hear constantly:
Why can't my kid just have screens and sports, music, and friends?
Won't my child resent me forever?
Don't confuse intelligence with maturity, and don't confuse access with preparation.
He closes with a direct message to teens listening—that the friendships worth keeping don't depend on a screen—and a reminder to parents that conversations alone won't solve a screen problem; only removing access will.
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