Communications Major

Readers who have taken the plunge said it had improved their lives, marriages and mental health, and offered advice to those going without their smartphones for “Flip Phone February".

A wave of teenagers who developed tics during the pandemic has receded, illustrating the powerful influence of stress on the body and the resilience of adolescents

International photographer Eric Pickersgill has created a fitting series entitled "Removed", where he presents individual portraits in beautiful black and white.

New research from Pew found that 77 percent of Americans go online daily, but 26 percent claimed to be online “almost constantly.”

Apple is reportedly planning to introduce a number of new and redesigned emojis as part of a new operating system for iPads and iPhones. Gone will be the revolver emoji, replaced with a squirt gun.

The report by Dr. Vivek Murthy cited a “profound risk of harm” to adolescent mental health and urged families to set limits and governments to set tougher standards for use.

"What these technologies do best is remind us of what we’re not doing: who’s hanging out without us, who’s working more than us, what news we’re not reading. They refuse to allow our consciousness off the hook, in order to do the essential, protective, regenerative work of sublimating and repressing. Instead, they provide the opposite: a nonstop barrage of notifications and reminders and interactions. They bring life to the forefront, constantly, so that we can’t ignore it. They’re not a respite from work—or, as promised, a way to optimize your work. They’re just more work. And six months into a society-throttling pandemic, they’re more inescapable than ever."

People are increasingly calling for boycotts of the big tech companies amid a backlash. The problem is that Facebook, Apple, Amazon and Google are nearly inescapable.

A new study reports cell phones may be making us hypersocial, rather than antisocial as previous research suggests.

Steps to regain control over smartphone addictions :

• Relax and celebrate the fact your addiction reflects a normal urge to connect with others!
• Turn off push notifications and set appropriate times to check your phone intentionally.
• Create “intentional protocols” with friends, family and work circles to set clear expectations on when to communicate.

Is it possible to be too connected in this digital age? Is the Social Media Monster - Facebook, Twitter, Email - rendering you unproductive at work? Look at the stats presented in this infographioc.