Articles
Video games, social media and pornography – How they control us and what you can do about it.
The technology industry has two salient goals…power and money. Big Tech gains power over users by designing its products to be addictive and makes its money by selling user data. Once people are hooked, they can be manipulated and coerced by the tech industry in a variety of ways…
Screens in Schools – The Learning Paradox, AI and what you can do to ensure healthy learning environments
An analysis of 2009, 2012, 2015 and 2018 PISA scores validated what we’ve known for some time – the more we use technology in schools, the less likely students are to learn, termed The Learning Paradox.
Disconnect to Reconnect: Tackling Screen Addiction in Kenya
As a Gen Z teacher in Kenya, I have had a front-row seat to the effects of excessive screen time on students’ behavior and learning. While technology is incredibly useful, it is also presenting serious challenges. From reduced attention spans to a growing reliance on digital devices for even the simplest tasks…
Death by Screens – Humans need to detach from screens and attach to each other to survive
When a baby is born, their sole survival depends on forming an attachment with their parents. The infant has an instinctual need to establish a functional attachment bond with their caregivers to ensure all their needs are met, or they will die.
Screenbuster Program – A revolutionary new way to help kids better manage their use of screens
I have been working as a paediatric occupational therapist for almost 35 years in home, clinic and school-based settings. Around 2004 I began to see a significant change in the children I was treating.
ADHD or Screen Overuse? – ‘Screen for Screens’ is needed prior to diagnosis and medication
The CDC reports that there is “no test for adhd” but rather is defined in the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) as a “list of 6 symptoms in children, 5 in adults”, that have been grouped together to define behaviours characteristic of attention deficit.
Violence in Schools – Teachers might consider using penitentiary guidelines?
Did you know that penitentiaries are required by law to provide two hours per day of outside physical activity as a violence injury prevention initiative? In North American schools, many students don’t even get 15 min. unrestricted recess per day!
Beyond the Screen – Working together to create sustainable futures for humanity
Are you a clinician worried about the rise in child mental and physical disorders, and the trend to diagnose and medicate children? ‘Screen for Screens’ to assess duration and content of screen usage and treat your clients with screen management FIRST. I can help you.
Virtual Futures – Screens are killing children, and it’s not a slow death
The ways in which we are raising and educating children with screen technologies are not sustainable. Current levels of screen overuse are resulting children who are sedentary, isolated, neglected and overstimulated leading to early death, poor relationships and failure to work. We are losing a whole generation of children to screens.
Beyond the Screen – Big Tech Healing Humanity?
We’ve all been there…that virtual hole. Dark, alluring, endlessly entertaining. We feel comforted, relaxed, at ease in our chosen haven, at first. Then after hours and hours of being engaged in mindless, meaningless content, we start to feel sick, lonely, anxious, agitated.
Cell Phone Bans in Schools – Too Little Too Late? Preparatory Steps Included
In Canada, 6 out of 10 provinces and territories boast cell phone bans, but what does that really mean? The word “ban” is defined as “officially or legally prohibit” yet in practice, Canadian schools are defining and enforcing cell phone bans however they choose.
Why In-Person Therapy is Better – Digital Media Treatment & Education
A discussion with colleagues about ‘limbic resonance’ achieved with in-person therapy (as opposed on online therapy) lead me to this very well composed article written by Tracy Markle MA, LPC and Dr. Brett Kennedy Psy.D.
ParentsSOS (Parents for Safe Online Spaces)
Fairplay and David’s Legacy Foundation launched a new initiative called ParentsSOS (Parents for Safe Online Spaces). Our new ParentsSOS site features the stories of twenty families who have lost their children to social media harms.
Unsustainable – 66 primary and secondary impacts of screen-based technologies on children
What children need to grow and succeed they are not getting. We have failed a whole generation of children in so many ways. It is beyond the time to pull our collective heads out of the sand and take a good hard look at the harm screens cause.
Problematic Child Behaviour – What are they trying to tell us?
One of the most difficult challenges for parents and teachers these days is trying to manage problematic behaviours in children.