I was very interested when I heard about the National Day of Unplugging (sunset February 28 to sunset March 1). Since conquering cyberoverload is all about becoming the master and not the slave of our gadgets, I thought I should give it a try. But it wasn’t the easiest day for me to try to…
Once you move to an e-reader, as I have, you’re bothered by the fact that you have to give it up for two relatively short periods of time—during airplane take-offs and landings. We’ve been told for years that anything with an on-off switch can interfere with the plane’s navigation system.
An article in the New York…
Now that we have these wonderful gadgets that allow us to stay connected at all times, most of us never seem to be able to truly get away. No matter how far we go, we can usually be reached on our cell phones, and with our Smartphones we’re tempted to log in to see what’s…
Yesterday I overheard a woman talking about her husband’s recent heart attack:
He came back from running feeling absolutely horrible, with tightness in his chest, but he thought it was just because of the cold air. She said to him, “it may be a heart attack. Let’s go to the emergency room.” He absolutely refused, saying,…
A column in today’s New York Times Business section, titled “Life’s Too Short for So Much E-Mail,” suggests that the deluge of email is so overwhelming that we lose more than we gain by using it. Younger people shun it in favor of texting and tweeting. The writer, Nick Bilton, cites a study reporting that…
This article in today’s New York Times talks about the increasing trend of companies to forbid their employees to talk on their cell phones while driving. Many companies report that this doesn’t negatively affect productivity because many calls are unnecessary and because travelers arrive at their destinations experiencing less stress (btw: stress decreases cognitive flexibility, aka…
Here’s a great Op-Ed piece in the Washington Post talking about the advice Eric Schmidt gave to graduates. There are so many reasons we need to unplug at least once a day: 1) using our brain to its fullest; 2) being creative; 3) reducing our stress; and 4) maintaining real relationships with real people.
I am quoted today in an article in Toronto’s Now magazine on the negative physiological effects of exposure to disturbing news.
I have the good fortune to be at the beach this week, and I already think I see a difference on the same beach over last year. More walkers seem to have earbuds in their ears and more people seem to be using their smart phones either while walking or as they lounge on their…