Contact person: Donna Kozak donna.kozak@sd23.bc.ca 250-718-5332

September 19, 20, 2014 - Hong Kong, China

Workshops on impact of technology on corporate productivity and family life sponsored by the Young Presidents Organization.

Contact Person: Timothy Wong twong@ypowpo.org 

September 22, 23, 2014  - Mongolia

Workshops on impact of technology on corporate productivity and family life sponsored by the Young Presidents Organization.

Contact Person: Timothy Wong twong@ypowpo.org 

October 1, 2014 - Vancouver, BC

Workshop on the impact of technology on children sponsored by Gatehouse Montessori School

Contact Person: Gretchen van Nostrand gretchen@gatehousemontesorri.com 604-925-1437

October 16, 2014 - Roberts Creek, BC

Workshop on the impact of technology on children sponsored by Sun Haven Waldorf School

Contact Person: Sari Cormack saricormack@gmail.com 604-741-0949

Toddlers becoming so addicted to iPads they require therapy 

By Victoria Ward, Daily Telegraph, UK, April 21, 2014

One in seven of more than 1,000 parents questioned by babies.co.uk website admitted that they let them use the gadgets for four or more hours a day.

Whatever happened to the free-range kid?

By Shelley Fralic, Vancouver Sun columnist May 22, 2014

We are not, in our pursuit of protection, doing our kids any favours. Perhaps it's time to unleash them, to introduce some healthy risk, not just so they can be physical and fit, but so they can be children.

Empathy: The Development and Disintegration of Human Connection

CLBB and the Boston Society for Neurology and Psychiatry lectures, January 17, 2013

Research shows that with increased technology use, including discussion forums & social media, at the consequence of face-to-face, human interaction, we lose empathy and our humanity.

Children, Adolescents, and the Media
Policy Statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics Published online October 28, 2013 (doi: 10.1542/peds.2013-2656)

The American Academy of Pediatrics continues to be concerned by evidence about the potential harmful effects of media messages and images; however, important positive and prosocial effects of media use should also be recognized. 

Could WiFi in schools be harming our kids? 

By Naomi Buck, Special to The Globe and Mail, on Sunday May 11, 2014

In Canada, the lack of public concern about WiFi exposure in schools seems at odds with a culture of parenting that's often called hypercautious. Here, public awareness on the issue of exposure has been mainly focused on cellphones. The science at play is beyond the reach of most citizens, and many would rather not entertain the possibility that these incredibly useful technologies may pose a risk.

Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking

Editor-in-Chief: Brenda K. Wiederhold, PhD, MBA, BCB, BCN Published monthly by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc

Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking is the essential, peer-reviewed journal for understanding the social and psychological impact of today's social networking practices. Highly regarded as the go-to source in the field, the Journal has followed the trend of social networking and virtual reality for the past 15 years. It is known for its rapid communication articles and in-depth studies surrounding the effects of interactive technologies on behavior and society, both positive and negative.

The dangerous impacts of social media and the rise of mental illnesses

By Mariel Norton on May 10, 2014 for The Next Web

While there's a multitude of self-help guides preaching their own best practices for handling the negative aspects of social media, the resolution begins with learning to use social media when appropriate and remembering that health is wealth - physically, as well as mentally. 

Online Child Pornography Offenders are Different: A Meta-analysis of the Characteristics of Online and Offline Sex Offenders Against Children.

Babchishin KM1, Hanson RK, Vanzuylen H. March 14, 2014

The current meta-analysis compared the characteristics of online child pornography-only offenders, typical (offline) sex offenders against children, and offenders with both child pornography and contact sex offences against children (mixed). The findings suggest that offenders who restricted their offending behavior to online child pornography offences were different from mixed offenders and offline sex offenders against children, and that mixed offenders were a particularly high risk group.

By Robert Weiss LCSW, CSAT-S for About Sex and Intimacy in the Digital Age

For the most part, those who believe that sexual addiction (also known as sexual compulsivity and hypersexual disorder) is simply a myth tend to offer some combination of the five challenges presented by Robert Weiss in his examination of the validity/reality of the concerns.

By Margaret Rock for 2Machines Blog

The restaurant is overrun with children. Some kids are antsy, others are well-behaved, but a good number of them have one thing in common: their heads are facing down, as they play games on smartphones and tablets.

Video game addiction a real problem for many

By Dr. Max Wachtel for 9News May 1, 2014

Given the number of adults and children playing games, a 5 to 8 percent addiction rate adds up to millions of people. The games themselves are designed to become irresistible. Psychological research has been used to develop games that people want to keep playing. 

Mobile Addicts on the Rise, According to Data Study

Flurry, data analytics company , TheFix.com

According to a data study conducted by Flurry, the number of mobile addicts has grown 123 percent over the last year. A mobile addict is defined by Flurry as a user who launches an app more than 60 times per day, or six times more than the average user.

Reflections from the International Congress on Internet Addiction Disorders - Cultural and Clinical Perspectives.
By Kimberly Young on March 26, 2014 for Net Addiction.
Internet addiction disorder is a global and significant problem. Kimberly Young has just returned from the first International Congress on Internet Addiction Disorders held in Milan, Italy on March 21-22, 2014. While the ideas are still fresh, she wroe about the new and exciting programs being started to address this rapidly evolving problem.

My Students Don't Know How to Have a Conversation
By Paul Barnwell for The Atlantic Apr 22, 2014
The next time you interact with a teenager, try to have a conversation with him or her about a challenging topic. Ask him to explain his views. Push her to go further in her answers. Hopefully, you won't get the response Turkle did when interviewing a 16-year-old boy about how technology has impacted his communication: "Someday, someday, but certainly not now, I'd like to learn how to have a conversation.".  

Read, Kids, Read
By Frank Bruni For The New York Times May 12, 2014
Books are personal, passionate. They stir emotions and spark thoughts in a manner all their own, and I'm convinced that the shattered world has less hope for repair if reading becomes an ever smaller part of it. 

How romance is evolving in video games 

By Lisa Granshaw For The daily Dot April 29, 2014

Romance is adding a whole new layer to the role-playing experience. Typically it's not even a moment shared between two gamers controlling their avatars (that's something else entirely), but a moment between the player and a computer-controlled character they've spent time with during their adventures. This choice to have an intimate romance woven into storylines is quite different from how relationships have been portrayed in games in the past.

The missing ingredient to happiness 

By David for Rapitude.com

Many of us learn that happiness is nothing aside from getting what you want. But our wants so out-number and out-pace our "gets" that often when we feel content it's not because we finally have all we want, but because we've momentarily forgotten about all of our unmet wants. That's why we're so interested in distractions like television and alcohol. They temporarily protect us from being visited by other cravings. Watch what happens when the show ends and the TV goes off. An apparent need, for something, appears immediately.

Father Kills Son Over MMO Gaming Addiction 

By William Usher for Gaming Blend April 25, 2014

Multiple reports have surfaced in regards to a disturbing scenario in which a man has allegedly killed his son over the young man's addiction to massive multiplayer online video games. 

Young Children's After-School Activities - There's More to it Than Screen Time: A Cross-Sectional Study of Young Primary School Children 

Engelen, L. et al CMCH Australia 2014 

The children in this study engaged in a range of sedentary activities in their after-school time, including but not limited to television and screen time. The majority of after-school activities were indoors, but children were more likely to be physically active when they were outdoors.  © Center on Media and Child Health

The Quality of Mental Health Information Commonly Searched for on the Internet 

By GroholJohn M., SlimowiczJoseph, and GrandaRebecca Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking. April 2014, Vol. 17, No. 4: 216-221

Why Online Games Make Players Act Like Psychopaths
By By Ryan Rigney for Wired May 26, 2014

Are our actions in a virtual world tantamount to imagining those things we could do in real life but never would? Or are we merely behaving as we would in real life if there were no consequences for our actions?