We long for answers about the effects of screens on kids, but these are elusive. There are legitimate reasons to be concerned about the effects of screens on kids (and the rest of us). Given how popular smartphones, gaming, streaming media, and social media are, these technologies are certainly worthy of researchers’ attention. We…
The use of our screens is getting out of hand. Of course, we all use our screens for many legitimate purposes (e.g., finding information, connecting with others, blogging), but we all have experienced the endless checking, scrolling, and YouTube wormholes that can suck up much of our time. Through the use of persuasive design…
The phone becomes almost like a parasite that quietly leeches away our happiness and productivity. The good news is that a more mindful use of our devices can yield big results. Check out my previous blog for information on the consequences of too much phone use.
There has recently been a call to attention on the consequences of phone use. For example, computer scientist, Georgetown professor, and author, Cal Newport recently wrote a New York Times op-ed titled, “Steve Jobs Never Wanted Us to Use Our iPhones Like This.” As the title implies, Newport argues that instead of using our…
If you are old enough, when you hear the term “The Wall,” you may think of Pink Floyd’s album and/or movie of the same name. Both of which are more pleasant than today’s connotations of “The Wall” (or the lack thereof). We are entering the fourth week of a government shutdown, the longest in…
Kids are are still on their enviable, long winter break, and most of them will end up spending some extra time in front of screens. This raises the question: How much screen time is too much? I cover this topic in the most recent episode of Tech Happy Life on my YouTube channel and…
You might have caught the recent segment on 60 Minutes by Anderson Cooper about the effects of screens on kids and teens. Within the story, Cooper profiled a $300 million, 10-year study funded by the National Institute of Health that involves more than 11,000 children and 21 research sites. Hopefully, researchers will help answer…
Dr. Mike Brooks and Dr. Jon Lasser were interviewed by CTV’s Todd van der Heyden on his Viewpoints podcast. Viewpoints is a nationally syndicated radio show that airs through-out Canada. The episode is posted below. The interview starts around the 38:25 mark.
It’s beneficial to unplug and create sacred spaces. Here are some tips for doing so. In my previous post, I discussed why we need to unplug to create sacred spaces. In this post, I want to offer some tips on how to unplug to create sacred spaces. You might rightly ask, “Why bother to…
Parents now have access to the most effective tool to manage screen time Let’s be honest. We all struggle with screen time. We are all part of a vast, sociological experiment that is unfolding in all of our lives…and that of our kids. Our screens, with advances such as widespread access to high speed…