Are iPads, smartphones and Xboxes a form of digital drug? Recent brain imaging research is showing that they affect the brain’s frontal cortex exactly like cocaine. The frontal cortex controls executive functioning, including impulse control. Technology is so hyper-arousing that it raises dopamine levels — the feel-good neurotransmitter most involved in the addiction dynamic —…
The Internet of Things is a buzz phrase for digital monitoring. I am a fan of the IoT with respect to commercial enterprises such as airplane maintenance. But I will not let IoT consumer products into my home. The problem should be obvious. If I can monitor what my appliances are doing, so can the…
Growing popularity of voice activated technology in smartphones and home automation devices means that many Americans are never more than a few feet from a device capable of recording conversations they may assume are private. But a warrant recently obtained by police in Arkansas should serve as a reminder that Americans are willingly bugging their…
The world has changed incredibly quickly over the past few centuries and we can be sure it will continue to do so at an exponential rate. This has many people now questioning what we are doing here and in what direction our species is heading. “The world went and got itself in a big damn hurry.” – Brooks, from the…
In a world dominated by smartphone games like Pokemon Go and powerful game consoles such as the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, parents seeking tips on how much screen time they should let their children have were typically met with outdated recommendations. Now, in an attempt to keep pace with an increasingly technology-dominated world, officials…
If a tree falls in the Amazon, but you don’t capture it on Snapchat, did it actually fall? I had the thought while hiking through the rainforest, on the third day of a digital detox that was slowly killing me. What’s the point of eating a live worm or luring a monkey onto my shoulder…
