Let’s use bold, beautiful hearing aids to celebrate deafness
Hearing aids have always been designed to be concealed, yet they’re a beautiful affirmation of deafness – and should be seen
by Jaipreet Virdi
Technology and media
To be more tech-savvy, borrow these strategies from the Amish
With their focus on values and intentionality, the Amish offer a lesson in thinking critically about digital technology
by Alex Mayyasi
Why teenagers are deliberately seeking brain rot on TikTok
Talking to teens reveals a hidden sophistication to their media use. Rather than policing it, maybe we could learn from it
by Emilie Owens
The sex tech to come could offer more than ‘the real thing’
Sexbots and other artificial lovers might arouse discomfort, but their continued advances could have unexpected upsides
by Rob Brooks
What does switching from paper to screens mean for how we read?
It’s well established that we absorb less well when reading on screen. But why? And can we do something to improve it?
by Lili Yu, Sixin Liao, Jan-Louis Kruger & Erik D Reichle
How to use social media if you have social anxiety
If anxiety derails your attempts to share and connect with others online, there are steps you can take to stay in the loop
by Emma Warnock-Parkes
Kafka warned us: surveillance turns the watched into watchers
Surveillance changes us in powerful ways, as Franz Kafka warned. Neither the watched nor their watcher escapes unscathed
by George Alliger
The pleasure, the pain and the politics of a digital detox
Studying why and how people take digital-media breaks can reveal what individuals and societies value in unmediated spaces
by Trine Syvertsen
DNA testing is easy. It can also turn your family upside down
DNA testing is bringing the era of family secrets to a close. When a surprise is uncovered, lives can change forever
by Libby Copeland
What did the ancient Babylonians discern in the skies above?
Ancient Babylonian astronomers help us see that our view of the world is as much a product of our senses as of our culture
by M Willis Monroe
To make online learning more three-dimensional, let it be bumpy
Effective online teaching requires actively tuning into students’ needs, to ensure they’re doing rich, difficult work
by William Germano & Kit Nicholls
The illusion of closeness: how social media redefined respect
As we share and like and post, have our notions of restraint transformed so profoundly that all dignity becomes abandoned?
by Lutif Ali Halo
Chatbots remind us that natural conversation is artificial too
People fret about the authenticity of AI chatbots but precisely the same issues confront everyday exchanges between humans
by Larry S McGrath
Stick figures meet existential angst in this acclaimed, darkly comedic short
Directed by Don Hertzfeldt
Teenagers are going to sext, let’s teach them to do it safely
Preaching abstinence doesn’t work – in sex as in sexting. Instead, we should teach how to reduce risk and sext safely
by Joris Van Ouytsel
What I learned from sharing my private self with an AI journal
‘Quantified self’ apps analyse our physical and behavioural data. Now, AI journals want to access our emotional lives too
by Angela Chen