A New Book From Author Jeffrey T. Erickson

Digital Drift

The Hidden Epidemic Stealing Our Focus, Our Families, and Our Future

The pull is invisible. The consequences are not.

Screen dependence rarely takes over all at once. It builds quietly—one notification, one scroll, and one distracted moment at a time. Digital Drift helps readers recognize what is happening, understand why it matters, and take practical steps toward a healthier relationship with technology.

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Hardcover · 224 Pages · Available December 1, 2026 Foreword by Dr. Benjamin Hardy Published by Worth · Distributed by Simon & Schuster

Coming December 1

Digital Drift book cover by Jeffrey T. Erickson

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The Drift

Most people don't choose distraction. They drift into it.

Digital habits rarely change overnight. They become embedded through small, repeated moments—checking during conversations, scrolling without intention, reaching for a device whenever life becomes quiet. Over time, those habits can pull attention, relationships, and daily routines farther from what matters.

Stage One

Focus

Constant interruptions can make sustained attention and genuine presence harder to protect.

Stage Two

Families

Screens can quietly compete with conversations, routines, shared experiences, and emotional connection.

Stage Three

Future

What feels harmless or normal today can become the pattern individuals and children carry forward.

Recognition

What starts as convenience can become compulsion.

How the drift builds

No one decides to lose their attention. The shift is incremental, and each step feels reasonable on its own.

A device fills every quiet moment.
Conversations pause for a screen, then resume.
Focus fragments, so deep work feels harder.
Restlessness shows up when the phone is away.
The pattern becomes the family's normal.

How recovery begins

Change starts with noticing—not with willpower, guilt, or throwing devices away. Digital Drift works through what to look for and what to do next.

Name the habit before judging the person.
Understand what makes the pull so strong.
Set boundaries a real household can keep.
Rebuild the time and attention that got spent.

Drift happens quietly. Recovery begins deliberately.

Jeffrey T. Erickson

Inside the Book

Recognize the drift. Understand the pull. Reclaim control.

See the Warning Signs

Identify unhealthy digital patterns before they become accepted as normal.

Understand the Pull

Learn why digital experiences can be so difficult to resist and how repeated habits affect attention and emotion.

Build Realistic Boundaries

Develop deliberate screen-management strategies that can work in everyday life—not just during a temporary detox.

Return to What Matters

Protect focus, strengthen relationships, and create more room for presence, purpose, and emotional well-being.

Who It's For

Digital Drift is for anyone who has ever looked up and wondered where the time—or the connection—went.

FamiliesParents and families trying to create healthier screen habits.
PractitionersEducators, counselors, and professionals supporting children or adults.
LeadersLeaders and professionals working to protect focus and presence.
IndividualsAnyone who feels distracted, disconnected, or overly dependent on devices.

Foreword by Dr. Benjamin Hardy

Organizational psychologist, author, and founder of Scaling.com. Dr. Hardy introduces Digital Drift and the case for treating attention as something worth defending.

Portrait of author Jeffrey T. Erickson — Author · Counselor

The Author

Meet Jeffrey T. Erickson

Jeff Erickson has spent decades working with children, teens and families — as a father of seven, children's dentist, youth leader, counselor and community volunteer.

As a mental health counselor who works with individuals struggling with pornography and sexual addiction, Jeff became increasingly interested in the role screens can play in people's behaviors, relationships and well-being. He began studying the issue more deeply and speaking publicly about screen use in 2022.

In 2024, he founded ScreenGuy.com to help individuals and families develop healthier relationships with technology. What began with educational content has since grown to include his son Talmage and presentations for students, parents, and other audiences.

Now, in Digital Drift, Jeff brings together years of study, counseling experience and real-world observation to examine something that can be difficult to see while it's happening: the gradual ways our digital habits can pull us away from our focus, relationships and the things we value most — and the deliberate choices that can help us return to a life of balance.

Learn more about Screen Guy

Press

Media Inquiries

For journalist requests, review copies, speaking requests, or permission to excerpt Digital Drift, contact publicist Julie Ward.

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Questions

Before you order

Details on release timing, formats, and who the book is written for.

Digital Drift is scheduled for release on December 1, 2026. Pre-orders are available now.

The book can be pre-ordered through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Bookshop.org using the retailer links on this page. It will also be available wherever books are sold.

Digital Drift is scheduled to be available in hardcover and eBook formats. Availability and pricing may vary by retailer.

The book is intended for individuals, parents, families, educators, counselors, professionals, and anyone who wants a healthier and more intentional relationship with technology.

No. The goal is not to reject technology. It is to recognize when habits are taking control and develop a more deliberate, balanced way to use digital tools.

Reconnect

Return to what matters.

You are not powerless against digital drift. Recognizing the pull is the first step toward reclaiming your focus, relationships, and time.

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