“even our means of relaxation is… overstimulation”
"I teach at a university where many students pride themselves on the “study hard, party hard” lifestyle," writes Duke University professor Omid Safi in an essay on "The Disease
Science says parents with smartphones are more likely to let their children fall into snake pits
Yale economist Craig Palsson has a new article [pdf] asking whether the growing use of smartphones by parents of young children is responsible for the increased rate of
Talking about contemplative computing in Princeton and New Haven
Last week I spent several days on the road, on a whirlwind trip to the East Coast to talk about contemplative computing and The Distraction Addiction. It was
“people with ADHD have an overactive imagination as opposed to a learning disability”
The Takeaway with John Hockenberry has a brief piece on Scott Barry Kaufmann’s work on the neurological evidence that the same parts of the brain that are most
Santa Catalina School talk
Saturday I was at the Santa Catalina School in Monterey, talking about kids, parenting, schools, and contemplative computing (a riff on my book The Distraction Addiction). Photo: Courtney Shove,
“For children like Gus… Siri is a nonjudgmental friend and teacher”
Judith Newman has a terrific, touching article in the New York Times about her son’s relationship with Siri: Just how bad a mother am I? I wondered, as
Unstructured time and self-directed executive functioning
Another study examining how unstructured time is important for kids: a Frontiers in Psychology article on how “Less-structured time in children's daily lives predicts self-directed executive functioning.” From the
Kids can improve emotional intelligence when they spend time away from screens
This new article in Computers in Human Behavior is really interesting. A research team led by Patricia Greenfield wanted to know "whether increasing opportunities for face-to-face interaction while
“it’s easier to nurture relationships with family and friends when they’re on leave”
Oliver Burkeman writes in The Guardian about a new study on the benefits of "collective restoration," the benefits of group breaks and simultaneous vacations: A team led by
“Kids understand that smartphone technology… makes demands on our attention”
Devorah Heitner, who runs the Raising Digital Natives program in Chicago, has two recent great posts about her workshops with kids. As she explains, I do a lot