AI Summary
5 min readIn the opening moments of How to Touch Grass, host Julie Beck asks a simple question: pick one word to describe your relationship with technology right now. The answers come fast — "antagonistic," "complicated," "fraught," "reluctant" — and they set the tone for an entire season. This is not a show about quitting the internet. It is about renegotiating the terms of a relationship that most people feel they have lost control over.
The central observation that drives the season is a striking generational paradox: around two-thirds of Gen Z adults say they feel nostalgic for a time before they were alive. These are digital natives, people who grew up with smartphones and social media, and yet they are the ones most likely to romanticize a world without them. They love technology, but they want to be in charge of it — not the other way around. That tension, between genuine affection for what tech enables and a growing unease about what it costs, is the emotional and intellectual core of the series.
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What you'll learn
- 1 (00:00) **Framing the Question** - The episode opens by asking people to describe their relationship with technology in one word, setting up the central tension.
- 2 (00:19) **Hosts and Season Premise** - Julie Beck and Natalie Brennan introduce themselves and the season's focus on technology relationships.
- 3 (00:40) **Gen Z's Nostalgic Paradox** - A key statistic is presented: two-thirds of Gen Z adults feel nostalgia for a time before they were born.
- 4 (01:04) **Habits Are Contagious** - A behavioral insight is shared about how phone habits spread through social mimicry.
- 5 (01:14) **Solving and Creating Problems** - The hosts acknowledge that tech solves some problems while creating new ones.
- 6 (01:28) **The "Touch Grass" Prescription** - The show's title is directly addressed and explained.
- 7 (01:43) **Season Launch Details** - Practical information about the podcast's release is given.
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Guests on this episode
Show Notes
A common piece of advice for those who are chronically online is to “go touch grass.” This upcoming season of How To, co-hosts Natalie Brennan and Julie Beck will look more closely at the often-fraught, always-changing relationship people have with technology. They’ll explore how people can be more intentional with their devices, rebuild their attention span, and find a way to thrive in this fast-paced, image-driven culture.
Episodes will feature personal experimentation and conversations with experts in anxiety, education, and new technology.
The first episode of How to Touch Grass publishes Monday, July 27, and new episodes are released every Monday for five weeks. Subscribe now.
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