Media Use

A new Australian study indicates that adolescents can benefit from daily screen time, but only in limited doses: under 75 minutes for girls and under 105 minutes for boys. The researcher attributes the gender divide to a lower “active contribution” from girls during media use. Boys tend to play more…

For the seventh time this morning, I ogle at my wrist, shuffling through the features on my smartwatch until I can see my heart rate. It’s bumping along at a cool 102 bpm. I’m sweating slightly, nervously tapping my foot against the carpet. Whether it’s from this third cup of…

It wouldn’t surprise me if cavepeople worried about getting canceled. Steal someone’s share of the weekly mammoth meat and you’d probably be ostracized by the clan, forced to make your own fire in a lesser, lonelier cave. Until your people forgave your transgression and invited you back into the fold,…

Starting in the mid-20th century, father figures in pop culture, especially those portrayed on TV, have been characterized with negative attributes. Don’t be mistaken; there’s comedic gold to be mined from the blunders of characters like Bernie McCullough in “The Bernie Mac Show,” Hank Hill in “King of The Hill,”…

One foggy April morning in 1672, a woodsman stumbled upon a gruesome scene in the woods just outside the French village of Barfleur. The woodsman was already familiar with Madame Perrault’s forest cottage. Madame Perrault was an ailing, elderly woman, so the woodsman often stopped by with bread and soup…

You probably don’t think twice about turning on the news or reading the latest stories online about what’s happening in the world. But did you know that too much news exposure can seriously harm your mental health and wellbeing? People are consuming more media than ever before. Even before COVID,…

On the surface, the fitness guru you follow is inspirational—but they’re also driving unhealthy, relentless exercising into some of their followers. What about the diet teas or fizz drinks that everyone is drinking (according to the influencers you follow) in order to lose weight? How about the waist trainers they…

Whether you’re familiar with the popular TV series Schitt’s Creek or not, you’ve probably seen the viral video that’s going around right now. It’s a short clip from season 2, episode 2 where mother and son duo, David and Moira, attempt to cook a family meal together. In the scene,…

Every single day, you get emails about it. You open Facebook and see your friends talking about it. You pop onto twitter and it’s the number one trending hashtag. You’re on aisle D14 in Target and the woman looking at curtains next to you is talking about it. You, quite…

Your daily screentime average is up 25% from last week. My screentime has been increasing weekly—and my iPhone loves to let me know it. If I had to guess, this is likely the case for many other people right now, too. We’re stuck at home; we’re bored; we’re checking news…

Hi, I’m Juliette Zuckerman, a licensed marriage and family therapist at Thriveworks in Fairfield, Connecticut. I’m going to answer the following question: “How can social media help me during COVID-19?” While there are benefits to using social media during this time, there are limitations that are important for all of…

“The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” When it comes to device addiction, this may very well be the case. As society becomes more dependent on smartphones and as we are bombarded with new apps on a daily basis, a large percentage of the population has become chained to devices….