Software makers including Apple have been creating apps aimed at limiting how much time we spend using our smartphones. A behavioral scientist explains how – and whether – they work.
Smartphones make great citizen research tools. We take them everywhere and they have the functions (GPS, accelerometers, camera, audio, video) to sense, share and mobilize data between consenting citizens.
(Shutterstock)
We blame electronic devices for our increasingly sedentary behaviours. So why not harness them to study our movement patterns and tackle urgent health crises?
Children now spend more time at home and alone with their parents – new research.
Children understand and process more as they age, but they still require adult supervision and interaction with their use of technology.
(Shutterstock)
Parents’ social media sharing about the potentially harmful impact of media on children reflects underlying questions about how to best protect and nurture impressionable minds.
Teaching young people to analyze TV commercials will serve them well in other areas of life, researchers say.
threerocksimages from www.shutterstock.com
Thanks to the prevalence of technology, children are exposed to thousands of commercials a year. How can parents make their children more aware of how commercials influence what they think and do?
Today’s young people don’t play outside as much as their predecessors and are heavy users of electronics.
(Shutterstock)
Myopia is a major risk factor for serious eye diseases. It has become epidemic among children, particularly because of their heavy use of electronic devices.
Less recreational screen time is better for children.
Shutterstock
A new study in JAMA Pediatrics suggests higher levels of screen time at two and three years of age predict poorer child outcomes at three and five years, respectively.
Our unproductive ‘zombie’ screen hours can creep up – but they don’t need to rule us. Here are four steps to help you use new tools to monitor and change your technology habits.
A brief guide for teachers and parents on tech in the classroom.
Excess screen time for children and adolescents is linked to many negative outcomes such as obesity, language delays and antisocial behaviour.
(Shutterstock)
School is out and screens make tempting babysitters. Follow these recommendations to allow your child some screen time without compromising their health and development.
Using this many devices at once doesn’t mean a person is addicted to technology.
Pressmaster/Shutterstock.com
Though the World Health Organization has declared “gaming disorder” an addiction, its – and others’ – concerns about technology use and alleged addiction don’t hold up to scholarly scrutiny.
Current guidelines state students aged five to 18 shouldn’t be spending more than two hours per day engaged in electronic media for entertainment.
Shutterstock
Guidelines for screen use for students need to take more than just time into account. Sleep, eye health, posture and other wellbeing issues need consideration as well.
While politicians debate control, local communities can act now to keep kids safer at school.
AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee
While politicians argue endlessly over gun control, here are 10 practical ways the rest of us can work to prevent school shootings.
Although measures of teen and adult happiness dropped during the high unemployment rates of the Great Recession, it didn’t rebound when the economy started to improve.
ASDF_MEDIA/Shutterstock.com
With studies from the past year exploring the relationship between smartphone use and mental health, sleep, learning and romance, a more nuanced portrait of the device has emerged.
According to a new analysis, the number of US teens who felt “useless” and “joyless” grew 33 percent between 2010 and 2015, and there was a 23 percent increase in suicide attempts.
Professor, Canada Research Chair in Determinants of Child Development, Owerko Centre at the Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary
Assistant professor, School of Psychology, Scientist, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa