Posts Tagged ‘smartphones’

Smartphones are making us stupid – and may be a ‘gateway drug’

Monday, August 19th, 2019

Recent mobile phone bans in Victorian state schools have had some parents and kids up in arms, despite a study showing that 80 per cent of Australians support the ban. Many private schools are now implementing phone and device bans in schools – but they too face fierce opposition. Parents across Australia fork out hundreds Read more

Smartphones affecting New Zealanders’ relationships

Thursday, August 23rd, 2018

A 2degrees survey showed 39 percent of 2200 respondents aged older than 16 believed the amount of time being spent on their smartphones was affecting the quality of their relationship. The survey also found more than half of New Zealanders choose their phone or computer if they have to deliver bad news, but 43 percent of respondents Read more

A likely cause of teens’ mental health deterioration

Thursday, November 23rd, 2017

Around 2012, something started going wrong in the lives of teens. In just the five years between 2010 and 2015, the number of U.S. teens who felt useless and joyless – classic symptoms of depression – surged 33 percent in large national surveys. Teen suicide attempts increased 23 percent. Even more troubling, the number of 13- to Read more

I put my teenagers on a digital detox — results were shocking

Thursday, November 23rd, 2017

I never realised just how damaging our obsession with smartphones and our switched-on lifestyle was, nor how addictive screen time was, until I put my teenagers on an extended digital detox. The results were swift and shocking, raising the question of just what is happening to the selfie generation and whether we have more to fear Read more

Have smartphones destroyed a generation?

Thursday, August 10th, 2017

More comfortable online than out partying, post-Millennials are safer, physically, than adolescents have ever been. But they’re on the brink of a mental-health crisis. But they’re on the brink of a mental-health crisis. One day last summer, around noon, I called Athena, a 13-year-old who lives in Houston, Texas. She answered her phone – she’s had Read more

Francis Douglas turns off Wi-fi during breaks in hope students will interact

Monday, March 6th, 2017
wi-fi

Francis Douglas Memorial College in New Plymouth has started turning off its wi-fi internet network during breaks to encourage students to talk and play with each other. School principal Martin Chamberlain said he wasn’t banning phones, but he was limiting their use. Wanting to see more students out playing in the sunshine is the reason Read more

A Bible encyclopaedia on your smartphone

Friday, September 26th, 2014

A Bible encyclopaedia for smartphones, a real virtual library that holds numerous editions of the Scriptures that can also be accessed off-line. “Catholic Bible” is one of the most complete apps of its kind; the breadth and availability of its content are astonishing: it offers as many as forty two editions of the sacred text Read more

Pope tells youth not to waste time on Internet and smartphones

Tuesday, August 12th, 2014

Pope Francis has told young people not to waste their lives on “futile” distractions such as chatting on the Internet or on smartphones. Speaking to 50,000 German altar servers in St Peter’s Square on August 5, the Pope was asked by one of the young people how to make time for assisting at Mass. Francis Read more

Priest performs smartphone blessing service

Friday, October 4th, 2013

A French priest in Nice, south-eastern France, this weekend blessed his flock’s smartphones and tablet computers in a service that he stated “embraced the realities of modern life”. Rather than complain about the occasional 21st century interruption of a bleeping mobile disturbing his congregation’s Christian meditation, Father Gil Florini told FRANCE 24 the devices “should Read more

Pope: Statues and sleek cars no, bikes yes

Friday, July 12th, 2013

Pope Francis has asked for a statue of himself at his old cathedral to be removed — and advised seminarians and novices to get around on bikes and avoid sleek cars and smartphones. The statue, a lifesize likeness of the Pope, had been installed for about 10 days in the gardens of the Buenos Aires Read more