How to stay sane online (especially now) – tips from Shine Offline’s Laura Willis

Depending on where we live, we're now up between two and three weeks into Covid-19-caused confinement, meaning most of us with 'non-essential' jobs are stuck inside, working from home. Which brings its lot of non-digital challenges (home schooling, anyone?) But above all, we're more dependent on technology than ever. All interactions with colleagues are limited … Continue reading How to stay sane online (especially now) – tips from Shine Offline’s Laura Willis →

Big tech is harming the environment; how to stop it

You know how companies tend to say one thing and do the other? When it comes to the environment, this is known as greenwashing; essentially, pretending to be green for good press, then doing the opposite. Like Amazon's leader Jeff Bezos saying initiatives like its wind farms (above) would enable the company to be carbon … Continue reading Big tech is harming the environment; how to stop it →

How to do a data detox

"If you are not paying for it, you're not the customer; you're the product being sold." This quote — supposedly from Andrew Lewis/blue_beetle, and more frequently paraphrased as "if it's free, then you're the product" — initially referred to the arrival of ad-funded TV in the 70s. Today, we have become the product 24/7. None more so … Continue reading How to do a data detox →

2018: The year we lost Trust in Tech

Up until 2018, we'd happily posted the slightest details of our daily lives (ok, only the positive ones) on Facebook, warmly welcomed Alexa into our homes, waited impatiently for the latest iPhone, and not thought twice about letting Google follow us everywhere. This year, we learned, for example, that even turning off Google apps' location … Continue reading 2018: The year we lost Trust in Tech →

How to fight screen addiction

Earlier this year, we predicted that reducing screen time would be the only 2018 resolution that matters. A quick reminder why: We look at our smartphones for an average of 2-3 hours a day, and at least 50 times a day. And these are low estimates: some of us peek 150 times daily An increasing … Continue reading How to fight screen addiction →

EthicalOS: Teaching tech responsibility

Can tech companies be encouraged to think about social before financial profit? Such is the mission of EthicalOS, which uses highly plausible, Black Mirror-style scenarios of where we could be in the near future if startups and big tech don't think responsibly. Here's why it matters. Why is technological responsibility such a big deal right … Continue reading EthicalOS: Teaching tech responsibility →

Welcome! Are you sitting comfortably?

Then we'll begin! What do Brave New World, Blade Runner and Black Mirror (above, © Netflix) have in common? Hint: it's not "B". They all predict worlds where technology has lost control. Where the ideas of a few, claiming to be set on "making the world a better place" (© Silicon Valley), have managed to impose … Continue reading Welcome! Are you sitting comfortably? →