Equipping Fathers to Fight for Their Sons
Equipping Fathers to Fight for Their Sons

Sober on Purpose

Tanya Gioia and Doug Moore talk openly about digital addiction, pornography, gaming and AI, and how these shape boys’ and girls’ lives. They share practical, faith-rooted ways for parents to build shame-free conversations, set boundaries and stay connected with their children.

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45:01•5 Jun 2026

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Equipping Fathers to Stand Guard in the Digital Age

Episode Overview

Digital exposure rewires kids’ brains, creating a powerful dopamine loop through gaming, pornography, social media and AI chatbots.
Parents are urged to create a ‘no-shame game’ environment so children feel safe bringing any online exposure or struggle to them.
Authentic, daily conversations and simple check-in questions can keep connection alive even when kids seem withdrawn or ‘muted’.
Modelling healthy device use as parents, including phone-free times and device audits, is presented as essential groundwork.
Community support through a ‘shield wall’ of trusted adults can reinforce values and reach teens who have tuned out their parents.

“Our scars that we have don't disqualify us from leading. They actually give us the right tools.”

How do people find strength in their journey to sobriety while also parenting kids glued to screens? This conversation brings those two worlds together, as Tanya Gioia chats with Doug Moore, author of *The Vanguard Project: Equipping Fathers to Fight for Their Sons*. Doug draws on years of wilderness leadership, youth ministry and nursing to explain what constant digital stimulation does to young brains.

He talks about boys who "come out of a fog or a coma" a day or two into camping trips, once the Xbox and short-form videos are out of reach. He calls it "muting the mic" when kids stop making eye contact and shut down emotionally, weighed down by guilt and shame from what they’ve seen online.

Instead of piling on more shame, Doug champions what he calls a "no-shame game": if kids are exposed to something online, "you can come to dad". He shares how he’s working to build an authentic relationship with his 11-year-old son Gus, so that difficult topics like pornography, gaming addiction and AI chatbots feel safe to talk about.

Tanya brings the honest, slightly cheeky perspective of a mum in recovery who admits she’s sometimes been “very astringent” with rules around phones and screens. Together they swap practical ideas: daily check-ins, device audits that start with the parents, no-phone family times, screen-free adventures, and using trusted "shield wall" adults like uncles, pastors or family friends when teens stop listening to mum and dad.

For anyone wrestling with their own dopamine loops while raising kids in a digital culture, this conversation offers honest language, faith-rooted encouragement and very down-to-earth scripts for keeping connection alive. Could this be the nudge to put the phone down, look your child in the eye and start one small, braver conversation today?

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