Tag: smartphones

Recent Posts

The Digital World is Full of Possibility and Worry

The Huffington Post recently asked me to write a blog post on the influence of technology on the lives of children, parents, and families in connection with the new film Men, Women and Children. The request inspired me to put my ideas on (digital) paper wearing both my professional and personal hats. I come to […]

Read More

Are Young People Getting a Bad Rap These Days?

Young people in America don’t seem to be held in a very high regard these days. They’re accused of a veritable rap sheet of bad attitudes and bad behaviors. We constantly hear about the impending Armageddon when the next generations take over our country. Some of the less-than-admirable qualities that are attributed to young people […]

Read More

Are You Drowning in Email?

A great New York Times article describing the “tyranny” of email and how some countries and companies are attempting to staunch the tsunami of email during non-work hours. Anyone who feels overwhelmed when faced with checking their email or anyone who feels pressure to respond to work email on night and weekends will appreciate this article. […]

Read More

Raising Generation Tech Workshop and Q & A Now on YouTube

Not long ago, I gave a keynote address and participated in a Q & A based on my latest parenting book, Raising Generation Tech: Prepare Your Children for a Media-fueled World. Both are now available on my YouTube channel.

Read More

Technology is Making Us Dumber

Very much in line with my own views on the overuse of technology, this article describes 8 Ways Technology Makes Us Stupid. I’m quite sure that the majority of us can relate to each of the eight.  

Read More

Taylor Interview about Kids and Technology

I was recently interviewed by Michael Stelzner on mykidsadventures.com, a web site devoted to helping families find healthy alternatives to digital entertainment. You can listen to the interview here.

Read More

A Father’s Day Gift

This video should remind us all what’s really important in our lives and how we should spend our time. Happy Father’s Day!!

Read More

A Must-See Video of the Impact of Technology on Our Lives

In my recent post, I argue that opportunity costs (time spent doing one thing is time not spent doing other things) may be the greatest threat from technology. A friend just sent me this video titled Look Up that powerfully demonstrates what we miss–life, love, beauty, opportunity!–when we immerse excessively in technology. Here are a few great lines […]

Read More

Taylor Quoted in Article about Children’s Use of Technology

I was recently quoted in a newspaper article about the role of technology in children’s lives. I was in the minority opinion based on those the writer interviewed. What do you think? Whose side are you on (hopefully, your children’s)?

Read More

Are Opportunity Costs Children’s Real Problem with Technology?

There are a lot of “techno-evangelists” out there spreading the gospel of technology as the cure for all of our ills. For this group, technology can do no wrong. At the same time, there are plenty of Chicken Littles running around saying that our cultural, social, and educational sky is falling. For this group, technology is the ill that needs to be cured.

I place myself firmly in the middle of these two camps. Think of me as the Paul Revere of the 21st century—“The techies are coming!” I believe that technology is inherently neither good nor bad. But neutral does not mean it is benign. As with most things in life, technology is healthy or harmful depending on how it is used.

One challenge for us is technology enters our lives before we can know what effect it will actually have on us. The speed at which technology is becoming deeply woven into the very fabric of our lives is breathtaking; as if we’re holding onto the railing of a caboose of a runaway train. Innovations are launched and become a part of our culture so quickly that there isn’t time to step back and consider the implications of new technology on us. It is only in the rearview mirror that we can see whether a technological advancement has been beneficial or damaging. And by then it’s too late to go back; the new technology is already irreversibly embedded in our individual and societal psyches.

Read More