Why can't we stop scrolling? And what happens when we mistake watching other people improve their lives for actually improving our own? In this episode, GiGi Meier sits down with nonfiction author and digital wellness advocate Heather Henderson, whose ten years inside Big Tech—at Google, Uber, and Visa—gave her a front-row seat to the technology shaping how we think, work, and live.

Heather shares the story behind her new book, Reclaim: How to Stop Scrolling Through Your Life and Start Living It, exploring addictive design, the dopamine loop that keeps us coming back, and the phenomenon she calls Growth Theater—the illusion that consuming self-improvement content is the same as growing. Her takeaway is unforgettable: "You can't consume growth. You have to grow through it."

But this conversation goes far beyond digital wellness. Heather reveals what it's really like recruiting software engineers for Google and Uber, why imposter syndrome workshops exist even at the highest levels of tech, the psychological cost of layoff culture, and why AI could actually make some young professionals more valuable. She also opens up about how technology has personally transformed her experience living with hearing loss—and shares the Google Bus moment that changed how she viewed technology forever.

Plus, practical strategies for reclaiming control without abandoning technology altogether: the First 10 Minutes Rule, the One-to-One Rule, the Digital Self-Audit, and understanding your personal red, yellow, and green attention dials.

Tune in for a fascinating conversation about escaping digital autopilot, the five human needs driving our habits, and how to actually live your life instead of scrolling through it.

Find Heather here:

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