# data[].attributes.headline
Increasing Confidence in Children and Teens

# data[].attributes.subject
Increasing Confidence in Children and Teens

# data[].attributes.body
This article talks about visualisation and affirmations. No real negative information on phone usage.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Self-esteem is how people feel about themselves. Low self-esteem can be extremely damaging and can have many negative outcomes, usually manifested in adolescent depression, suicide, bulimia, and substance addiction. Teenagers often struggle with their body images while trying to mirror the airbrushed fashion covers of their favorite film stars, consequently feeling like they are not good enough. In addition to that, they frequently feel pressured by the need to be accepted at any cost. Low self-esteem means low self-worth. Nurturing positive attitude towards oneself is something we do not teach children in schools. Self-confidence at young age is fragile and adolescents should be encouraged to share their hopes and concerns with their parents and peer groups. Encouraging children to think positively about themselves is of utmost importance for their personal development. Back-to-school month not only brings a multitude of great things for an adolescent, but also some soul searching. Here are 4 tips serving as a daily dose of inspiration to help you boost and maintain your fabulous self.

Understand and grow your talents and skills

It is important to start investing in yourself from an early age. "Invest in what you know" is what I tell young boys and girls whenever they come to me seeking for advice. The more you know, the more confident you become with using and expressing your own skills and talents. For any great achievement a certain skill set has to be developed. Everyone has its mission to fulfill in life, and the sooner you are able to understand what your individual skillset is, the faster you will achieve it. Success is a process, it does not happen overnight, and every day that you spend learning and improving, you get closer and closer to becoming an expert in your chosen field.

Embrace your individuality, express your personality

People who achieved their goals had to embrace their individuality that did not necessarily conform to the established, societal norms. Celebrate your differences; it is important to stay in good faith and reinforce belief in yourself. The higher you go, the more pressure will have to endure. Additionally, you should always expect that there will be those who will try to oppose you. It is crucial that you start developing flexibility, adaptability and resilience. Keep reinforcing a positive attitude towards yourself. Love yourself. What we think of ourselves is usually hidden after the statement "I AM". So, grab a piece of paper and start writing all the loving and affirmative statements that follow "I AM".

Visualize your dreams

Professional athletes do visualization exercises all the time. When I interviewed world tennis No.1, Novak Djokovic, in the Spectator Life, he revealed that as a child, with his late coach Jelena Gencic, he had regularly visualized winning Wimbledon:

We were listening to this wonderful music and doing visualization exercises. Her philosophy was that these exercises would open up my creativity and help me believe my dreams. She thought this would help me clarify the image in my mind of winning Wimbledon and becoming the best tennis player in the world... One of the best and the most emotional moments of my life was when I brought the Wimbledon trophy to Jelena's house and put it among all the trophies I used to admire when I was a kid.

If you can dream it, you can achieve it!

No matter how small, celebrate your achievements

Challenges come as the time passes by; it is absolutely normal to have ups and downs throughout life. What everyone will tell you is that you should learn from your mistakes instead of letting them stop you from believing in yourself. Mistakes happen and they are a normal part of life. Resilience is the ability to bounce back; you have to be ready to crash and burn. However, being able to acknowledge and celebrate your achievements is equally important as owning your mistakes. No matter how small, success is always good to celebrate. Getting a good grade on the exam, learning a new language, acquiring a new friend, experiencing a new country or winning a sports competition; it is very important that you keep record of your achievements as a reminder that you are going in the right direction. Success is a journey; with each positive statement you make about yourself, you are one step closer to your destiny.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How to boost self-confidence in children and young adults?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Self-esteem is how people feel about themselves. Low self-esteem can be extremely damaging and can have many negative outcomes, usually manifested in adolescent depression, suicide, bulimia, and substance addiction. Teenagers often struggle with their body images while trying to mirror the airbrushed fashion covers of their favorite film stars, consequently feeling like they are not good enough.

# data[].attributes.body
Social Skills are encouraged in this article

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Confidence in teenagers: what is it?

Confidence is the belief that you'll be successful or make the right choice in a particular situation.

Your confidence is related to your self-esteem, which is feeling good about yourself and feeling that you're a worthwhile person. But having high self-esteem doesn't mean you always feel confident.

Confidence and resilience are related too. Resilience is the ability to bounce back from difficult experiences and cope in hard or stressful situations. If your child has resilience and learns that she can cope when life is difficult, it will leave her feeling more confident to tackle difficult situations. It's a positive cycle.

Why building confidence is important for teenagers

Confidence helps teenagers make safe, informed decisions. Confident teenagers can avoid people and situations that aren't necessarily right for them, and find those that are.

If your child is confident, he's also more likely to be assertive, positive, engaged, enthusiastic and persistent.

For example, a confident teenage girl whose boyfriend breaks up with her might be upset for a little while. But then she might realise that she can bounce back from the sadness she's feeling now and focus more on the positive aspects of her life, like other friends and family. On the other hand, a girl who feels less confident in her relationship skills might be more upset, or even feel that the break-up was her fault. This could also affect her self-esteem, and leave her feeling that she isn't worth dating.

Teenagers with low confidence are less likely to join in activities, more likely to hold back in class, and might be more willing to give in to peer influence. When a child lacks confidence, he might expect to fail at things he tries, or he might not try as hard when things get tricky.

How to build confidence and resilience in your child

Here are some tips for building confidence and resilience in your child.

Be practical
Look for the practical and positive things your child can do to build skills and increase her chances of success. Giving your child a clear strategy to improve her likelihood of success is a great way to help her understand exactly what she can do to achieve goals. For example, 'Ada, if you want to be picked for the basketball team, you need to make sure you're listening to the coach and practising between sessions'.

Give your child opportunities to try new things
When your child tries lots of different things, he'll get to know what he's good at and what he enjoys. He'll also learn that most people do well at some things and not so well at others - and that's fine. After all, we can't all be Olympic athletes, gaming champions or musical geniuses.

Encourage your child to keep trying
If your child fails at something, help her understand that everyone makes mistakes. It's OK if you can't do something the first time you try. You could share some examples of times that you've failed, or have needed to keep trying at something.

Model confidence in your own ability
You can be a role model when it comes to confidence. For example, you could talk to your child about what you're going to do to try to succeed at a task. If it doesn't work out, you can model resilience by talking about what you're going to try next time. You can also discuss things you've done that might have been scary or tough for you to do, showing your child that you've also been through times when you've needed confidence.

Encourage your child to act confident
Acting confident is the first step to feeling confident. So you could suggest to your child that he makes eye contact with others, is bold, does what he loves, tries not to focus on what he can't do, and walks away from situations he knows aren't good.

Practise social skills
If your child feels anxious in social situations, she might need some guidance from you. For example, body posture, smiling, connecting with others, showing interest in others' activities and joining in conversations can help build confidence.

Praise your child's efforts
If an exam, interview or game doesn't work out the way your child hoped, try to praise your child for the effort he put into the activity, rather than the outcome. You could also suggest some ideas about what he could do differently next time.

Your teenager still needs a strong relationship with you to feel confident as she meets the challenges of adolescence. You can build this strong relationship by working on open communication and staying connected.

Risks to teenage confidence

Your child's confidence might be at risk if you, he or other people he respects focus on his outcomes rather than his efforts. If the outcome is a 'failure' - for example, a poor exam result, a grand final loss - it can seem like the end of the world. But if your child knows that his effort is what you value most, this can lessen the blow of a 'failure'.

During adolescence, physical changes can also affect teenagers' confidence. If teenagers feel self-conscious about their bodies, it can affect their confidence overall and how they feel about themselves.

Bullying, or peer pressure to be the same as others, can also affect teenagers' confidence.

Getting help for teenage confidence

If your child's confidence changes suddenly, or if low confidence is stopping her from trying new things, a good first step is to talk with your child. This will help you find out what's happening for her.

If it isn't something you can help your child with yourself, it might be a good idea to get help from a teacher, school counsellor or psychologist.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Confidence is the belief that you'll be successful or make the right choice in a particular situation. Your confidence is related to your self-esteem, which is feeling good about yourself and feeling that you're a worthwhile person. But having high self-esteem doesn't mean you always feel confident. Confidence and resilience are related too.

# data[].attributes.headline
Help for Mental Health Issues: Beyond Blue

# data[].attributes.subject
Help for Mental Health Issues: Beyond Blue

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Information on symptoms, treatment and prevention of depression and bipolar disorder.

1800 242 636

Short-term counselling and emotional and psychological support services for carers and their families in each state and territory.

1800 650 890

Free online and telephone service that supports young people aged between 12 and 25 and their families going through a tough time.

1800 55 1800

A free, private and confidential, telephone and online counselling service specifically for young people aged between 5 and 25.

1300 78 99 78

A telephone and online support, information and referral service, helping men to deal with relationship problems in a practical and effective way.

An innovative website that can help you find free and low-cost, trusted online and phone mental health resources.

1800 61 44 34

An online and telephone clinic providing free assessment and treatment services for Australian adults with anxiety or depression.

Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services and Aboriginal Medical Services in each state and territory.

1800 184 527

3pm-12am

QLife is Australia's first nationally-oriented counselling and referral service for LGBTI people. The project provides nation-wide, early intervention, peer supported telephone and web based services to diverse people of all ages experiencing poor mental health, psychological distress, social isolation, discrimination, experiences of being misgendered and/or other social determinants that impact on their health and wellbeing.

1300 364 277

A provider of relationship support services for individuals, families and communities.

1800 18 7263

Information about mental illness, treatments, where to go for support and help carers.

Information, resources, counselling and group support to those bereaved by suicide. Education and professional development to health, welfare and education professionals.

Support groups and online forums

Talking about what's going on with others who understand - or may be going through something similar - can really make a difference. Our friends at Black Dog Institute have a list of support groups in every state and territory that can help you connect with groups of people who meet regularly to discuss their experiences, their problems and their strategies for coping.

The beyondblue online forums are also a great way to connect with people online, in a safe and anonymous environment, to discuss anxiety, depression, suicide and a range of life issues. Anyone in Australia can participate in discussions, connect with others and share their experiences with our community.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Information on symptoms, treatment and prevention of depression and bipolar disorder. 1800 242 636 Short-term counselling and emotional and psychological support services for carers and their families in each state and territory. 1800 650 890 Free online and telephone service that supports young people aged between 12 and 25 and their families going through a tough time.

# data[].attributes.headline
Article on Social Activities for Young People

# data[].attributes.subject
Article on Social Activities for Young People

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Do you want to help your teen develop good social skills? Are you a concerned parent who wishes your teen had a more fun social life? If you agree to these and similar questions then reading this article may help you.

It is extremely important for kids to have good socialization skills. These skills help prepare them for their life later. The need and manner of socialization also change once the kids grow up and become teenagers. These years are rife with confusion, rage and grumpiness as a result of puberty. Kids with poor socialization skills may become even more aloof as teens. Poor social skills at times may also manifest as rage or depression. Kids who lack proper social skills often tend to have difficulties in maintaining meaningful relationships as adults.

Thus, it is important to help teenagers learn proper social skills. Parents play a crucial role in this area and can do a lot of good by helping their teenagers participate in social activities. Here are some ideas for games and activities to help your teen and young kids develop social skills.

10 Fun Social Skills Activities For Teens

1. Theater:

Theatre is a great activity for teenagers to meet new people and expand their horizons. Visit the local theater groups in your town/city and see if they have open spots for kids. Theatre may help your shy kid to open up and help your social kid to thrive in a creative environment. Kids who don't like the limelight can also consider working in the costume or production department of theater companies. You should also encourage your teen to take part in school plays.

[ Read: Group Activities For Teenagers ]

2. Activity Camps:

Summer camps with lots of fun activities are perfect for kids of all ages. Find a camp that is appropriate for your teenager. Camps are great places to make new friends, interact with strangers and also work alongside them. One-day or weekend camps are especially effective for teens who lack social skills. A day of interaction with new people and partaking in different activities can help even shy kids learn the skills needed for proper social interactions. There are tons of options for camps such as drama, dance, music, sports, science, etc.

3. Volunteer Work:

Volunteering is a great activity for kids of all age groups. Encourage your teen to volunteer at retirement homes, child welfare centers or animal shelters. They can also offer to teach useful skills to smaller kids or read books to them. Help them understand how they can organize volunteer works to help their neighborhood or community. Your teen can improve his social skills while helping others.

4. Sports Participation:

There is a reason sports matter so much in life. Beyond entertainment, there is a lot people can learn from sports. Teenagers can learn the value of teamwork, organization, leadership, motivation, fitness and support from playing sports. All these qualities are great for character-building and for improving socialization skills.

[ Read: Fun Summer Activities For Teenagers ]

5. Art Classes:

Help nurture your teen's artistic talent and get the added benefit of an improvement in social skills through art classes. Not only will your teen interact with instructors and fellow students, he will also get an outlet for creative self-expression. The activity helps shy kids express their views better. Encourage your teens to enroll in any art or craft classes just to test the waters. Painting classes, sketching, fabric art, pottery, sculpting and similar activities help teenagers express themselves to others in a better way.

6. Bonfire Night:

Organize bonfire nights for your teen. Plan events where you can invite your extended family and get to know each other better or reminisce about the good old times. Encourage your teenagers to throw a different kind of birthday party complete with a bonfire night as the perfect backdrop for fun times with friends.

[ Read: Fun Party Games For Teens ]

7. Educational Trips:

So your teen loves museums, great! Plan activities where he can better his social skills. Visit different neighboring towns and explore all museums. Help your teens further explore this interest by bookstore visits where they can buy books about history. Find out about expert lectures and seminars on the subject and offer to accompany them to the event or pay for your teen to go with a friend.

Educational trips are not only a great way to help teenagers explore their interests, but they also offer ample opportunities to interact with new people. Simply asking a question during the Q & A session of a lecture may require great deal of guts from a shy kid. Help them break the ice and converse with the museum tour guide or even interact with a stranger.

8. Game Nights:

Game night during a party or family event is a fun way to help your teenagers open up to others. Make such activities more thrilling by asking people to come up with their games on the spot. Select the best ones through votes and have a blast. The bonding will help your teen develop better socialization skills.

9. Live Events:

Watching live events together as a family or with friends can be an amazing experience for your teen. Championship games, dance performances, music recitals, quiz shows, competitions, etc., are live events that teenagers can watch in a social setting. They would be amidst a crowd, a majority of those people would be strangers. It will help your teen shed his inhibitions while he cheers for his favorite team.

10. Bowling Fun:

Plan an evening of bowling/roller skating/ice skating fun with your teen. Such visits can be great for developing your teen's social skills as he will be around many people. As he will bowl or skate while others watch, the activity will help him burst his bubble.

Social Skills Activities For Kindergarten:

Your child needs appropriate guidance about good communication and behavior. It's an excellent way to introduce social games for kids and concepts at varying developmental stages for your kindergarten and preschoolers.

11. Eye On The Forehead:

You Will Need:

Divide the kids into pairs.

Now place an eye or eyes sticker on one teammate's forehead.

Encourage the other child to look at the sticker.
You Will Need:
A few objects like a kitchen tool, a toy or a stationary

Hand your child an object and tell him to describe what he thinks about it, according to his perspective. She has to make the object look like something it isn't. For him, an empty cup can be a duck's bill or a party hat.

This social skill training for children will develop their vocabulary and story-building skills.
You Will Need:

Markers

Scissors

Double-sided tape.

Construction paper in 7 different colors.

Lay out the table for your little toddler to observe and learn.

Now have your kid draw and cut out the following from the construction paper.
You Will Need:
This activity requires kids to mimic you.

If you touch your forehead, tell him to do the same.
You Will Need:
Tell your child to the color the images of the cartoon aliens. Now help him cut it out.

Stick the alien's pictures to the popsicle sticks. As you affix the images, explain to your kid why respecting another person's space is important. You can also introduce him to the concepts of using 'gentle hands' to get someone's attention instead of hitting or shouting.
You Will Need:
Write simple questions on the cards like "What's your favorite food?" or "Do you have a pet"?

Have the kids sit in a circle. Now pass out the cards and tell each of them to read out the question.
You Will Need:

Round number stickers.

Card stock paper

Small sticky notes.

Scissors

Tell your child to make a telephone model of the card stock paper. Cut a rectangular shape from the card stock and replicate the phone's keys by sticking the round number stickers.

Now give your and your partner's number to your kid and tell him to practice calling and dialling. You can teach him about emergency numbers too.

Now talk to your kid from your phone when he dials your number from his phone. Carry out the conversation just like you would do with any other adult. This way, you can teach your kid about communication skills and ways of interacting with others on the phone.
[ Read: Interesting Activities For Kids ]

Tell the kids to disperse in another room and get into pairs within five minutes.
You Will Need:
Write down some words related to feelings on small slips of paper. Put all the paper slips in a bowl and shuffle.

Now have the kids take turns at picking out a paper and acting out the feeling written on it. You can also allow the kids to draw the emotion on a black or white board. The other kids have to guess what emotion the player is trying to demonstrate.

Instruct the kids clearly that they cannot talk. Neither can they draw the emotion using a face. They have to express it by drawing the situation and body language that can lead to the feeling. This game is one of the excellent social skills group activities for kids.
You Will Need:
Place the images of the emotions face down on the surface.

Now tell the players to think about elements that must appear in the story. It can be anything, from a dog to a banana to a lemur.
You Will Need:
Take your child to the nearby community park for swinging.

Make an eye contact with him as he swings back and forth.

Also, tell him to try to reach for you with his right foot if you are standing on his right and left foot if you are standing on his left.

1. The activity will help him direct his focus to you and will calm him down.

2. Kids love to swing and so this can be one of the favourite social activities for children.

You Will Need:
Assemble the kids in the hall room or garden.

Choose an 'it' and ask the other children to line up horizontally.

Now ask the kids to freeze like statues. The 'it' now has to try to make the other players laugh.
You Will Need:
First, talk to your kids about good and bad manners. Tell him that there's only a thin line between good manners and bad manners. For example, greeting an elder while sitting versus greeting him cordially while standing up.

Now tell him to make a collage on good and bad manners with the magazine cut out.

You can even ask them to make a slogan on the manners.

Draw and cut the words like 'peace', 'clean', 'silence', 'neat' and 'hygiene'.

Now talk to him about the relevant rules like 'maintaining silence in the library', staying quiet when someone is on the call,' 'keeping the wardrobe clean' and so on.
You Will Need:
The purpose of the game is the find out who has the peanut.

Have the kids sit in a circle, placing their hands behind their back and closing it tightly.
You Will Need:
Make the kids sit in a circle and give one of them a ball.

Now ask the child with the ball to name a fellow player and roll the ball to him.

The recipient has to do the same thing.
Recommended Articles:
The process will repeat itself through the game.

Now select one kid to be the 'peanut passer'. Holding the peanut in his hand, tell him to go around the circle, sliding his hands through the other kid's hand until he secretly passes off the peanut. He has to go through the circle one full time before giving the peanut.

As the passer walk around, the other kids have to chant 'Mr. Peanut where are you? Mr. Peanut come to me."

Now select a kid and ask him who he thinks has the peanut. Keep asking until you find the actual location of the peanut.

When you've found the peanut, the kids have to chant, "we've found the peanut! Pass the peanut, but not to me"!

Repeat the game with another peanut passer.
[ Read: Outdoor Activities For Kids ]

Now cut out the strips and tell your child to stick when he think it's appropriate.

The first kid to laugh will be the 'it' for the next round.

The game will teach kids self-control and patience, few of essential social skills.

Tell the first player to pick a card and start his narration. He is free to take the story in any direction he likes. But the catch is that he must incorporate the emotion on his card.

After he has finished, have another child take his turn at picking a card and making up the story. Kids have to build on each other's idea, making use of all the story elements.

Now tell the kids to ask each other the questions and listen to the answers.

Now ask every kid individually what they learned about the partner.

The activity will encourage active listening and will let the kids know about each other.

Further, explain to him that the aliens he has colored are you, and he is space, the invader.

When the child puts up his mark of the space invader, the aliens would require a moment to regroup. Make him do the same.

This way, you can explain to him the concept of giving people their space to play.

If you pinch your nose, tell him to follow.

Box your ears lightly and tell him to do the same.

The activity will help the kids pick up the expression and read them appropriately.
[ Read: ties-for-kids_00377081″> Conversation Activities For Kids ]

The round will end if the player blinks.

Swap the team-mates and repeat the game.

The game will train your kindergarten to look in the correct direction, in a less intimidating way. This is one of the fun social skills activities for kids.

[ Read: Team Building Activities For Kids ]

12. Build The Vocab:

13. Setting The Table:

14. Mimic Me:

15. Space Invader:

16. One Question Interview:

17. Telephone Skills:

Social Activities For Young Children

Teaching social skills activities is important for the growth of your child. Here are few such helpful activities for your young and middle school aged children.

18. Emotion Charade:

19. Improvisational Storytelling:

Social skills may be delayed in some children, especially those with special needs. This is one such social skills activities for autism.

20. Swinging:

[ Read: Educational Activities For Kids ]

21. Freeze It:

This is one such best social skills activities for high school students and teens to improve their team building skills.

22. Manners And More:

Social skills activities for middle school students help their personal growth and development. This is one such social development activities for children that can help them to understand about the social skills and thereby develop them.

23. Word Strips:

You Will Need:

24. Who Has The Peanut?

25. Name Game:

As a parent, you can do many things to help your teen improve his social skills. All you need to do is plan activities, which help motivate and encourage him and in no time your shy kid will blossom into a confident teenager.

Do you often plan activities for your teens to help them improve their social skills? Please share your ideas with us. Leave a comment below.

Was this information helpful?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Top 25 Social Skills Activities For Teens And Young Children

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Do you want to help your teen develop good social skills? Are you a concerned parent who wishes your teen had a more fun social life? If you agree to these and similar questions then reading this article may help you. It is extremely important for kids to have good socialization skills.

# data[].attributes.body
Autonomous Meridian Sensory Response

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
[ASMR] 100% Guaranteed Sleep ~ Extremely Intense Relaxation

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
There's no denying that a huge part of the appeal of Bob Ross (1942-1995), creator and host of the instructional public television show The Joy of Painting, was his soothing, almost hypnotic voice, waxing poetic about "happy little trees" as he created his signature landscapes. But can Ross's mellow monologues help insomniacs get a good night's sleep?

Calm, a meditation and sleep app with 22 million users, is convinced that hearing Ross's baritone can help listeners catch some much-need z's. The app, which specializes in "sleep stories"-i.e. bedtime stories that are supposed to help listeners fall asleep-has added Ross to its line up, in response to what it says is overwhelming demand.

"Before there were Calm's Sleep Stories, there was Bob Ross. Now you can get both at once," said Alex Tew, who cofounded Calm in 2012, in a statement. "We've had so many Calm users asking us for a Sleep Story with Bob Ross. He was and still is a hero to the hard of sleeping."

Without the visuals, The Joy of Painting becomes an experience in chill, Ross's steady, even tones accompanied by the swishing sound of the paintbrush and the soft scrape of the palette knife.

The basic components of an episode of Ross's beloved TV show are actually shockingly similar to a present-day YouTube phenomena called ASMR videos, which look to trigger the so-called "autonomous sensory meridian response"-spine tingles, accompanied by a sense of drowsiness. ASMR videos often feature young women whispering, crinkling paper, and using household materials to make other calming sounds. Ross, it seems, is the ASMR OG.

Craig Richard, professor in the department of biopharmaceutical sciences at Shenandoah University in Virginia and an ASMR researcher, believes that Ross was channeling the ASMR effect years before it became an online sensation.

"I remembered coming home from school as a kid, flipping channels and stopping on Bob Ross because his voice was so magical," he told the Star Tribune. "I'd set up a big floor pillow and fall asleep halfway through. I don't think I ever watched him finish a painting."

Now, thanks to Calm, the artwork has been removed from the equation entirely, transforming Ross's creative process into a meditation guiding the journey into dreamland. If his Sleep Stories catch on, it will be yet another afterlife for the beloved painter, who became a Twitch star when The Joy of Painting began streaming live in 2015.

To build anticipation for its new Ross Sleep Stories, Clam surveyed over 1,000 Americans to find the best quotes by the painter. Here are the results:

"It's hard to see things when you are too close. Take a step back and look."

"We don't laugh because we feel good, we feel good because we laugh."

"There are no mistakes, just happy accidents."

"You can do anything you want. This is your world."

"Talent is a pursued interest. Anything you're willing to practice, you can do."

"Go out on limb. That's where the fruit is."

"We want happy paintings. Happy paintings. If you want sad things, watch the news."

"Ever make mistakes in life? Let's make them birds. Yeah, they're birds now."

"There's nothing wrong with having a tree as a friend."

"I really believe that if you practice enough, you could paint the Mona Lisa with a two-inch brush."

Want to stay ahead of the art world? Subscribe to our newsletter to get the breaking news, eye-opening interviews, and incisive critical takes that drive the conversation forward.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
A Popular Relaxation App Has Transformed Bob Ross's 'The Joy of Painting' Into an Arty Sleep Aid | artnet News

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
There's no denying that a huge part of the appeal of Bob Ross (1942-1995), creator and host of the instructional public television show The Joy of Painting, was his soothing, almost hypnotic voice, waxing poetic about "happy little trees" as he created his signature landscapes.

# data[].attributes.body
Apps like this are supposed to promote relaxation.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
This app lets you create perfectly symmetrical drawings

# data[].attributes.body
An adolescent girl is propped up on pillows, laying in bed on her phone, all you hear is the clicking of buttons and alerts coming from her device.

We cut to her phone: she has numerous apps going. She is on an app that allows her to create an entire lifestyle: her looks, friends, home, family and social activities. We see a text message banner drop in. It says ‘Danni: Hey you wanna go to the rink today?’ We see her flick the message off the screen and choose skating as a social activity on her app.

Time passes, we still see her on the bed.. we also see the background of her room change to become the version in her app.

We cut back to her phone. She see that 8hrs have passed. ‘Crap!’, she exclaims. She tries to get into her messages but she cannot see Danni or anyone she recognises in her contacts list. ‘What the hell? Where did everyone go.. wait a min..’ she says in a confused manner. She flicks back to her app and all her contacts are the same as her app.

She gets out of bed and looks around and sees that her room has changed. She tries getting a line out on her phone and she gets sent to an automated message centre for her app. You can here this message from the phone: ‘Hi, you’ve reached lifechanger: please dial 1 to change hair, dial 2 to change lips, dial 3 to choose ethnicity.’ She starts to panic. ‘No, no, no, no, get me out of here!’ she yells, as she tries to turn the door knob. The door won’t open as it’s no longer a real door.

Suddenly the scene changes and we see jerk our of bed. She’s been asleep. She checks her phone: it’s the next morning. There are 6 messages from Danni. She calls her straight away. We pan out and it fades. We hear her faintly apologising as the shot goes to a black screen that shows the message: GET REAL and GET OUT! Go to www.getrealandgetout.com for apps designed to keep you connected in real life.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How social media makes us unsocial | Allison Graham | TEDxSMU

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Is Social Media Hurting Your Mental Health? | Bailey Parnell | TEDxRyersonU

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Percentage of Life | Social Media Addiction - Short Film

# data[].attributes.headline
Award winning student film on phone addiction

# data[].attributes.subject
Award winning student film on phone addiction

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Phone addiction today | "Life Smartphone" - Short Film by Chenglin Xie | Student Academy Award

# data[].attributes.headline
Article on problematic behavioural issues with excessive phone usage 

# data[].attributes.subject
Article on problematic behavioural issues with excessive phone usage 

# data[].attributes.headline
How using mobile phones can change cognition?

# data[].attributes.subject
How using mobile phones can change cognition?

# data[].attributes.body
Specifically around attention, memory and delayed gratification.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Abstract

While smartphones and related mobile technologies are recognized as flexible and powerful tools that, when used prudently, can augment human cognition, there is also a growing perception that habitual involvement with these devices may have a negative and lasting impact on users' ability to think, remember, pay attention, and regulate emotion. The present review considers an intensifying, though still limited, area of research exploring the potential cognitive impacts of smartphone-related habits, and seeks to determine in which domains of functioning there is accruing evidence of a significant relationship between smartphone technology and cognitive performance, and in which domains the scientific literature is not yet mature enough to endorse any firm conclusions. We focus our review primarily on three facets of cognition that are clearly implicated in public discourse regarding the impacts of mobile technology - attention, memory, and delay of gratification - and then consider evidence regarding the broader relationships between smartphone habits and everyday cognitive functioning. Along the way, we highlight compelling findings, discuss limitations with respect to empirical methodology and interpretation, and offer suggestions for how the field might progress toward a more coherent and robust area of scientific inquiry.

Keywords: smartphones, mobile technology, media multitasking, attention, memory, delay of gratification and delay discounting, everyday cognition

Introduction

For all the media attention that this subject garners, the supporting scientific literature is still in its nascent stages. The present paper aims to consolidate and integrate some of the key empirical evidence that has emerged regarding the association between smartphone technology and cognitive and affective functioning. We examine the extant corpus of studies in terms of the specific claims put forth by the researchers who conducted them, and where relevant, offer a consideration of factors that might qualify or limit the generalizability of the findings. As we proceed, we evaluate the domains in which there is reason to be concerned about the growing presence of smart technology in our culture, domains in which smartphone technology may enhance cognitive skills, and domains in which the scientific literature is not mature enough to substantiate such claims. In this discussion, we examine evidence relating to both the acute consequences of media technology use on the performance of ongoing cognitive tasks, as well as the more lasting relationships that may exist between technology usage habits and cognitive abilities. As a snapshot of the current literature related to this topic, we also hope this paper can serve as a resource for those conducting further research in this area.

Challenges and Limitations in Scope

The 21st century has already provided us with a vast array of technological advances that markedly shape the ways by which we interact with the world. In this paper we could not hope to investigate every type of emerging technology, nor would we endeavor to review every psychological implication of the technologies in question. For instance, much has already been written about the impact of violent television and video games on children ( Hartmann et al., 2014), and this is one of many topics that fall outside of the scope of the present review. Likewise, this review will not venture into the growing body of research exploring problematic usage of mobile phones and the addiction-like symptoms of overuse ( Bianchi and Phillips, 2005; Billieux et al., 2008; Kwon et al., 2013; Lee et al., 2014). Nor will it consider studies exploring the possible effects of radio frequency electromagnetic fields emitted from cellular devices on the human brain and its functioning ( Zubko et al., 2016). There is also a growing body of work exploring how technology-related habits may be affecting the development of individuals' social competencies and emotion reading, and this is yet another topic that has been tackled elsewhere ( Brown, 2014; Misra et al., 2014; Uhls et al., 2014; George and Odgers, 2015; Mills, 2016) and to which we give little consideration.

To give the present review some focus, we begin with the premise that smartphones are an especially impactful technological development, due to their flexibility of function, portability, and increasing proliferation. Accordingly, we limit the scope of our examination to work that is directly relevant to smartphone-related impacts. Moreover, rather than concentrating on "problem" behavior related to smartphone technology (see e.g., Bianchi and Phillips, 2005; Hadlington, 2015), we mainly explore evidence regarding the consequences of typical everyday smartphone use. Finally, while a wide array of mental functions might be influenced by smartphone habits, we home in on the impacts in the three domains that are most widely discussed in the lay media and that have garnered some consideration in empirical work: attention, memory, and delay of gratification (reward processing). We then give brief consideration to some emerging work exploring links between smartphone habits, executive functioning, and academic performance.

Some representative studies exploring the relationship between smartphone (and related) habits and cognitive functioning are summarized in Table ​Table1 1 . Researchers interested in this area of study are faced with many difficulties when developing an empirical approach, and these challenges necessarily pervade our attempt to review the extant literature. To begin, smartphones have become so ubiquitous that it is nearly impossible to employ true experimental methods with random assignment into different technology exposure/access groups. Even when it is possible to find technology-naïve participants, contrasting them with experienced technology users is likely to be a confounded approach, due to disparities in SES, age, resources, and social expectations among groups who differ in their habits. As a result, much of the literature consists of quasi-experimental and correlational studies, from which strong inferences regarding causality cannot be drawn. The few truly experimental studies that have been performed on this topic typically investigate only momentary effects of smartphone use or deprivation on cognition, rather than long-term impacts.

Table 1

Reference

Finding summary

Attention

Memory and knowledge

Delay of gratification and reward

Everyday cognition and executive functioning

The majority of studies in this field also employ self-report questionnaires that provide only a narrow window into the relevant behaviors, and that may in some cases provide unreliable indices of the target behavior ( Baumgartner et al., 2016). Indeed, the limited evidence we have regarding the compatibility between subjective and objective usage measures indicates that self-report estimates of usage are likely to be of limited reliability, and only modestly correlated (if at all) with actual usage ( Andrews et al., 2015). Further, because the landscape of technology usage opportunities is ever-evolving, many of the questionnaires that researchers develop turn out to have a limited "half life," sometimes becoming dated (or obsolete) before they can be applied more broadly across research labs, or used to establish meaningful longitudinal trends in key behaviors ( Roberts et al., 2005; Rideout et al., 2010). Relatedly, the fact that smartphones are a relatively recent development precludes the existence of any broadly generalizable longitudinal evidence. Thus, even when connections between technology and cognition are established, we do not know the extent to which these impacts are lasting. Another crucial challenge is that it can be difficult to assess technology usage habits without intruding on participants' natural behavior. Attempts to assess smartphone-related habits (questionnaires, diaries, etc.) can draw the participants' attention to their patterns of use, which could alter their naturalistic behaviors and affect the way in which participants approach laboratory tasks that are meant to assess the cognitive impacts of such habits. In spite of these many challenges, some foundational research has been conducted, and some intriguing patterns are beginning to emerge. In the following sections, we discuss recent research in the areas of attention, memory and knowledge, delay of gratification, and conclude with a consideration of studies investigating more general effects on academic performance and other domains.

Mobile Technology Use and Attention

Here we consider the empirical research concerning the potential impacts of smartphone-related technologies on divided attention and focused attention. Focused attention refers to the capacity to attend to only one source of information while ignoring other incoming stimuli. Focused attention also encompasses sustained attention - the ability to maintain a directed attentional focus over an extended period of time. Conversely, divided attention typically refers to the ability to perform two or more functions simultaneously, otherwise known as multitasking.

Exogenous interruptions occur when some environmental cue captures the user's attention. This often involves an alert coming directly from the smartphone itself, but can also involve some other external event that triggers subsequent smartphone use, such as noticing someone else interacting with his or her phone, or being reminded during a live conversation (either explicitly or implicitly) about an activity that can be accomplished on one's smartphone (email, information search, etc.). Importantly, smartphones are capable of interfering with focused attention even when the user attempts to ignore them. In one recently published study, for instance, researchers demonstrated that exposure to smartphone notifications significantly decreased performance on a concurrent attention-based task, even when the participant did not take the time to view the notification ( Stothart et al., 2015). Simply hearing the sound or feeling the vibration that signified the alert was enough to distract the participants and decrease their ability to focus attention on the primary task. The researchers posited that that the notifications prompted task-irrelevant thoughts, which manifested themselves in poorer performance on the primary task.

Further evidence suggests that even the mere awareness of the physical presence of a cell phone may impact cognitive performance. Thornton et al. (2014) conducted a study in which participants were asked to complete two neuropsychological tasks designed to measure executive function and attention, a digit cancelation task and a trail-making task. Each task involved two levels of difficulty. At the start of the experiment, the experimenter "accidentally" left either her cell phone or a notebook on the participant's desk. Participants in the cell phone condition performed significantly worse on the more difficult parts of the digit cancelation and trail-making task than participants in the notebook condition, but performance on the easier parts of the tasks was similar. The researchers replicated these findings in a follow-up study for which half of the participants were asked to place their own cell phones on their desks. The researchers concluded that the mere presence of a phone is sufficiently distracting to affect cognitive functioning, but only during demanding tasks.

The acute and short-term consequences of having one's attention distracted away from ongoing tasks is an obvious locus of concern in relation to smartphone habits, but there is also growing fear that the increasingly regular interactions we have with smartphones might also have a more lasting impact on the basic capacity for focused and sustained attention. At this point, very limited empirical evidence lends backing to this concern. Given the lack of longitudinal research in this domain, the best data available are derived from correlational studies. However, findings from those studies are somewhat mixed with respect to the claim that smartphone usage is linked to a diminished attentional capacity beyond the time in which an individual is actively engaged with the device.

One study intimating that smartphone habits diminish sustained attentional abilities was conducted by Lee et al. (2015). The specific focus of their work was on the connection between an individual's degree of "addiction" to a smartphone and the ability to achieve "flow." A flow state relates to sustained attention in that it is "a state of concentration so focused that it amounts to absolute absorption in an activity" ( Csikszentmihalyi et al., 2014). Lee et al. (2015) investigated whether one's specific pattern of smartphone usage could have long-term effects on the ability to achieve a state of flow. The researchers administered three questionnaires to a large sample of university students, measuring level of smartphone addiction, tendency for self-regulated learning, and capacity for learning flow. The results showed that the individuals who scored highest on the smartphone addiction scale scored significantly lower on the self-regulated learning and learning flow scales. The authors suggest that the smartphone addiction causes a reduced ability to achieve flow and to be self-regulated learners. Of course, it is equally possible that individuals who are able to be self-regulated learners and more easily achieve flow are also more capable of controlling their impulses with respect to smartphone usage, and thus scored lower on the smartphone addiction questionnaire, or that smartphone use and learning flow exert bidirectional influences on one another. Given the correlational nature of the data, we cannot infer any directionality for the relationship, but the data at least hint that excessive smartphone usage could have a negative impact on the ability to maintain the form of sustained focused attention assessed by the flow index.

While these behavioral and neuroimaging findings are intriguing, some research using MMI scores has failed to reproduce the originally observed associations ( Minear et al., 2013; Ralph et al., 2013, 2015). Indeed, some evidence suggests the opposite pattern of relationship - that high MMI scores correlate with better performance on certain attentionally demanding tasks. For instance, Lui and Wong (2012) created a task that required participants to integrate incoming information from multiple sensory modalities (vision and audition). Their findings revealed that individuals who reported heavier multitasking outperformed light multitaskers in their ability to integrate the information arriving from multiple modalities. Findings suggesting an attentional benefit associated with heavier media multitasking are also compatible with studies demonstrating positive and transferable impacts of training, through repetitive task practice, in divided attention tasks ( Dux et al., 2009; Karbach and Kray, 2009).

Perhaps because the Media Multiuse Questionnaire was the first questionnaire of its kind to be employed in a study published in a major scientific journal, the measure has been widely adopted as an assessment of media-related behavior, and as such, is the basis of many additional empirical studies. In just the few years since its conception, dozens of studies have used MMI scores to investigate the cognitive and psychological impacts of media multitasking (see Table ​Table1 1 ).

While media multitasking appears, at least under certain circumstances, to be negatively correlated with the ability to task-switch and filter distractions, one form of media included on the questionnaire has been associated with improvements in multitasking: action video games. As Cardoso-Leite et al. (2015) note, it may seem paradoxical that media multitasking is related to poorer multitasking performance whereas the single task of playing a video game leads to improved multitasking performance. Nonetheless, positive associations between gaming and skills like selective attention, sustained attention, task-switching, and visual short-term memory have been demonstrated in numerous correlational and experimental studies (for a review, see Green and Bavelier, 2012). These associations appear to be specific to the genre known as "action video games" (e.g., first-person shooters), rather than strategy games or role-playing games. Action games require high cognitive and perceptual loads, divided visual processing, and feedback learning with a complex reward schedule, and seem to specifically improve pattern recognition and the metacognitive process of "learning-to-learn" ( Green and Bavelier, 2012). The specificity of this relationship highlights another limitation of the MMI: it does not distinguish between different types of video games. Of note, action video games are typically played on computers or gaming consoles, whereas many popular smartphone games (e.g., Candy Crush, Words with Friends) are strategy games that seem to be less likely to confer similar cognitive advantages.

Attention: Summary

The research reviewed above provides some limited empirical support for claims about the effect of smartphone technology on our attentional capacities. While there is clear evidence that engagement with smart devices can have an acute impact on ongoing cognitive tasks, the evidence on any long-term impacts of smartphone-related habits on attentional functioning is quite thin, and somewhat equivocal. Generally, the evidence does point to a negative relationship between smartphone usage and attention, but correlational and self-report data dominate the literature. Where more controlled assessment of attentional performance has been deployed, such as with media multitasking, the results are mixed, with some studies even yielding a positive relationship with the ability to filter distractions. The limitations of current methods used to measure media-related behavior and wide variation in the specific tasks used to assess attentional performance may account for some mixed results in the literature.

Mobile Technology Use, Memory, and Knowledge

Smartphones provide constant access to an endless and ever-improving database of collective knowledge. Having this access enables people to search for, locate, and learn seemingly any fact that they desire. Prior to the advent of the World Wide Web, the closest available approximation of this sort of resource was a multi-volume encyclopedia, the cost and limited portability of which precluded ubiquitous use. Internet search engines enable anyone on a connected device to have access to an unfathomably large amount of information, often at very low cost. Moreover, smartphone technology allows people to take this information wherever they wish, and access it within a matter of seconds.

One topic that has been investigated is the oft-cited claim that modern technology is leading us to depend upon our devices to store information for us. In a highly influential and informative study, Sparrow et al. (2011) asked participants to type a series of newly learned trivia facts into a computer. Half of the participants were told that the computer would store their typed information for them and that they would be able to access it later, whereas the other half believed that the information would soon be erased. The individuals who believed they would maintain access to the typed information performed more poorly on a later recall task. Importantly, an explicit instruction to remember the facts vs. not being told to remember had no impact on participants' rates of recall. This finding, dubbed by the authors as the "Google Effect," and later referred to by other researchers as "digital amnesia" ( Kaspersky Lab, 2015) demonstrates that the expectation of having later access to information can make us less inclined to encode and store that information in long-term memory.

Sparrow et al. (2011) further argued that we are becoming symbiotic with our technology; remembering less actual information and instead committing to memory where such information can be found. To further investigate this theory, the researchers conducted an additional experiment using a design similar to that described above, but with three within-subject conditions. For one third of the questions, participants were simply told that the information they entered was saved. Another third of the questions resulted in the participants being told that the information was saved into one of six pre-determined folders (named FACTS, DATA, INFO, NAMES, ITEMS, and POINTS). The remaining third of the questions were followed by a prompt that informed the participants that the information they typed was immediately deleted. The results of this experiment indicated that participants were better able to recall the name of the folder in which the relevant information was located than the information itself. The authors use this finding to claim that, "the processes of human memory are adapting to the advent of new computing and communication technology" ( Sparrow et al., 2011, p. 778).

A potential experimental confound that Sparrow et al. do not discuss is the amount of "information" represented by the trivia fact vs. the name of the folder. The authors provide an example fact, "The space shuttle Columbia disintegrated during re-entry over Texas in February 2003." The complexity of the fact may make it more difficult to memorize than the name of the folder in which the information is stored (i.e., FACTS). Future research should attempt to create more balance between the trivia statements and the folder names.

Studies investigating the relation between digital photography and memory have assumed that photographs are stored or shared in a semi-permanent matter. Thus, while the act of taking photographs may change memory encoding during an event, the photographs provide an opportunity to review and recollect the experience at a later time. However, recent trends in social media use have prioritized ephemeral photo-sharing. For example, Snapchat - a tool rapidly rising in popularity, especially among youth ( Lenhart, 2015) - allows user to send and post pictures and videos that can only be viewed a limited number of times or for a finite period (Instagram recently debuted a similar feature). Users may therefore experience the same effects on memory in the moment, without the added opportunity to refer back to the photograph or video as an external source of information/memory. Little is yet known about the specific effects of ephemeral photo-sharing tools on memory for events (which may act on memory in a way that is akin to the soon-to-be-erased files in Sparrow et al., 2011).

Another common concern regarding the "offloading" of our semantic memory into a modern technological device regards the impact of GPS mapping systems on our ability to navigate the world. Crafting an accurate cognitive representation of our spatial surroundings is crucial for us to effectively and efficiently get from one place to another. It has been posited that constant reliance on GPS navigation systems, which are now integrated into smartphone devices, interferes with our natural tendency to develop cognitive spatial representations. Media headlines insist that these car technologies are "creating stupid drivers" ( Moskvitch, 2014) and there are many compelling instances in which a driver blindly followed an inaccurate GPS direction into peril ( Hansen, 2013). As GPS navigation devices pre-exist smartphone technology, so too does the related scientific literature.

In a study published a decade ago, researchers sought to identify the consequences of overreliance on GPS navigational devices ( Burnett and Lee, 2005). Specifically, the authors wanted to know whether use of GPS navigational devices impacted their participants' tendency to create cognitive maps when maneuvering through a novel environment. To do this, Burnett and Lee recruited experienced drivers to navigate around a 3D digitally rendered virtual environment. The virtual environment resembled a medium-sized neighborhood, and included many buildings and other landmarks such as trees, signs, and people. The between-subjects design required half of the participants to study a map of the environment for as long as they wished before hitting the road in an attempt to reach their destination using the most direct route possible. Conversely, the other half of participants were allowed to study the map for only 20 s, and then commenced their journey, which was accompanied with turn-by-turn voice guidance to the destination. After the participants completed the route, their spatial knowledge of the environment was tested according to three facets of spatial representation: Landmark-, Route-, and Survey-level representations. Participants were presented with screen shots of scenes, including some from the virtual environment and some that were similar, but not actually on the route that the participants took. The participants were required to identify which screenshots they recognized as part of the route they took (Landmark) and the order in which they occurred (Route). To assess Survey knowledge of the spatial environment, participants were asked to sketch a map of their overall route as best they could on a blank sheet of paper, and to include as many landmarks as they could remember. The results from this study showed that the participants in the voice navigation group performed significantly worse in Landmark and Route knowledge of the environment. Further, those in the voice navigation group drew significantly simpler and more fragmented maps in the assessment of Survey knowledge.

Some recent research has focused on identifying ways in which the detriments of navigation devices on spatial memory can be mitigated. It has been shown, for example, that spatial knowledge can be improved by allowing users to request that their position be indicated at any given time during the navigation episode ( Parush et al., 2007). Further, spatial knowledge can be improved if users are forced to perform mental rotations of on-screen images, as opposed to observing automated rotations ( Boari et al., 2012). This knowledge can be applied by encouraging users to keep their navigation devices set such that North is always facing up, rather than moving around the compass as they turn.

Memory and Knowledge: Summary

Research investigating the relationships between smartphone technology habits and one's memory and knowledge capabilities is still scant, but available findings indicate that, as some have worried, smartphone-related habits can in some cases be detrimental to mnemonic functioning. Though there are some important limitations in the experimental designs that have been discussed, the work conducted to date does give us reason to be cautious about how we use new technologies. The available evidence suggests that when we turn to these devices, we generally learn and remember less from our experiences. While the research discussed in this section represents an important step toward investigating the impact of smartphone technology on memory, it is equally important to bear in mind that the sort of "memory externalization" that these articles focus on is by no means a new issue. The same concerns could, for instance, be made regarding a Rolodex. Invented in the 1950s, this 'rolling index' provided a system to organize one's contacts into an easy to access alphabetized structure. It allowed its users to remember where an individual's contact was located, rather than needing to memorize the full contact information. Determining whether externalizing cognitive processes via smartphone is necessarily worse than externalizing cognitive processes via older methods will be an important avenue for future research.

Mobile Technology Use, Delay of Gratification, and Reward Processing

In addition to their effects on memory and attention, smartphones and related media are often implicated as the cause of a perceived cultural shift toward a necessity for immediate gratification ( Alsop, 2014). Indeed, there is a common belief that the current generation of children and teenagers are less capable of waiting for rewards, due in part to the omnipresence of various types of multimedia in their lives ( Richtel, 2010b). As with the previous sections, the empirical work exploring this claim is still in its nascent stages. In this section, we outline some studies that inform our understanding of the potential impacts that smartphones can have on individuals' tendencies to choose smaller, more immediate, rewards over larger rewards after a delay, and then offer a summary on the status of the claim.

Some work in this realm has begun by exploring the motivations that drive individuals to engage with media in the first place. In one such study, Wang and Tchernev (2012) investigated media multitasking in terms of the Uses and Gratifications theory ( Katz et al., 1973). Based on this theory, "Needs" could be defined as "the combined product of psychological dispositions, sociological factors, and environmental conditions that motivate media consumption" and "Gratifications" as the "perceived fulfillment" of those needs, in this case as a result of media use or exposure (p. 495). In their experiment, Wang and Tchernev (2012) collected self-reported data over a period of 4 weeks. Participants were asked to submit three reports daily, in which they indicated the types of media that they had used in the time that had passed since the previous report, and whether they performed any of these activities simultaneously (i.e., multitasking). The participants were also asked to indicate the specific "motivation" (emotional, cognitive, social, or habitual) that drove them to engage in each media interaction, and the strength of that motivation on a 1-10 scale. The participants indicated the degree to which each "need" was satisfied on a 1-4 scale, and this data was aggregated into "gratification" measures used in data analysis. By comparing the various types and strengths of motivations and gratifications across time points, the experimenters were able to draw interesting conclusions regarding the short-term causes and effects of multimedia interaction. Specifically, participants most often reported that "cognitive" motivations drove their interactions with media devices. However, subjective reports indicated that the ensuing interaction with a media device rarely satisfied the cognitive needs. Instead, participants experienced an emotional gratification that they did not report pursuing in the first place. Ultimately, these emotional gratifications may be driving subsequent media interactions at an unconscious level [for related findings, see Zhang and Zhang (2012)].

In a study performed in our own lab ( Wilmer and Chein, 2016), we used a measure of self-reported mobile technology usage in an attempt to mine the potential relationship with delay of gratification. We observed a significant negative correlation between participants' mobile technology usage and their "indifference point" and discounting rate in a delay discounting paradigm. Specifically, individuals who were heavier users of mobile technology were also more apt to accept a smaller, more immediate reward than to wait for a more substantial but delayed reward. These findings fit with the popular conception that having constant access to these devices could generate a need for instant gratification. In our study we further observed that the correlation between technology habits and delay of gratification was mediated by individual differences in impulsivity, but not in reward/sensation seeking. This finding partially replicated earlier investigations of the relationship between media use and impulsivity ( Minear et al., 2013; Sanbonmatsu et al., 2013; Shih, 2013). Since the results from all of these studies are entirely correlational, they could simply reveal that people who naturally tend toward more immediate gratification and who give in to impulses more easily also tend to use their mobile devices more often (i.e., there may not be a causal relationship from media use to discounting behavior).

Still, habituating oneself to constant immediate gratification could have significant and lasting cognitive consequences. In one of the few truly experimental studies in the field, researchers sought to determine whether non-users of smartphones would exhibit a change in their reward processing capacity after being provided with a smartphone for the first time ( Hadar et al., 2015). The aim of the study was to investigate the cognitive, behavioral, and neural consequences of smartphone usage, with a specific emphasis on delay discounting. Participants were divided into three groups: heavy smartphone users, smartphone non-users, and a third group which were smartphone non-users who were given a smartphone for the first time (the latter two groups were assigned randomly). The heavy smartphone users showed higher scores for impulsivity and hyperactivity on a questionnaire that was administered at the beginning of the experiment. Even more interestingly, after a 3-month exposure to smartphones, the non-users who were given a smartphone were found to have become more immediacy oriented in the delay discounting measure, whereas non-users' orientation did not change. The data from Hadar et al. (2015) suggest that heavy smartphone usage can causally reduce an individual's capacity (or at least tendency) to delay gratification in favor of a greater reward in the future. These findings are strengthened by the study's experimental design.

Delay of Gratification and Reward: Summary

As with the research highlighted in the previous sections of this paper, the data is still too sparse to support firm conclusions regarding the impacts of smartphone use on reward processing and delay of gratification. Lurid claims that smart devices are "rewiring our brains" ( Greenfield, 2013) into being addicted to instant gratification suffer from a lack of any longitudinal evidence, and still very limited empirical support of any kind. Future research could use neuroimaging techniques to investigate whether any "rewiring" is actually occurring, and some relevant work is currently being conducted. At present, neuroimaging research has been limited to cross-sectional studies mapping the neural correlates of engaging in popular activities on mobile phones. These studies cannot shed light on the ways that mobile phones may be leading to functional or structural changes in the brain. By conducting brain scans before and after a long-term intense exposure to electronic immediate gratification, neuroscientists could analyze whether any connectivity changes occurred.

Mobile Technology Use and Everyday Cognitive Functioning

Given the pattern of findings in attention, memory, and the ability to regulate reward-related processing in the context of delay of gratification, it follows that we might expect to see links to more generalized measures of cognitive functioning. One way in which such links have been studied is by exploring the relationship between technology habits and general academic performance. Studies on this front generally support the conclusion that poor academic performance (generally assessed by GPA) can be predicted by higher levels of smartphone use ( Beland and Murphy, 2014; Lepp et al., 2014), instant messaging ( Levine et al., 2007; Fox et al., 2009), social networking ( Kirschner and Karpinski, 2010; Junco, 2012b; Karpinski et al., 2012; Paul et al., 2012), media multitasking ( Junco, 2012a; Rosen et al., 2013; Sana et al., 2013), and general electronic media usage ( Jacobsen and Forste, 2011; Junco and Cotten, 2012).

Researchers have also directly investigated the relationship between mobile technology/media multitasking habits and executive functions that are thought to be essential to academic performance ( Abramson et al., 2009; Alloway and Alloway, 2012; Alzahabi and Becker, 2013; Lepp et al., 2014; Barr et al., 2015). In one relevant study ( Baumgartner et al., 2014), participants were required to complete a self-report questionnaire and computerized tasks that assessed executive functions in three subcategories: working memory, inhibition, and shifting. Participants who reported being high multitaskers, based on MMI score, also self-reported lower levels of "executive function in everyday life" on the questionnaire. The correlation was significant for all three subcategories of the executive functioning questionnaire. Though the results from the self-report measures were not corroborated by any of the performance-based measures of executive functioning used in that study, very recently published work conducted by Cain et al. (2016) does provide evidence for such links. These authors found that higher media-multitasking among a large adolescent sample was associated with poorer performance on one laboratory measure of executive function, the n-back working memory task, and also with lower scores on a standardized test of academic achievement in the classroom. Taken together, this body of work suggests that the degree to which one can exert executive control over behavior and maintain goal-related representations (in working memory) may explain individual differences in vulnerability to the "real life" consequences of mobile device habits.

Interestingly, there is also some evidence suggesting that one's susceptibility to cognitive disruption from mobile technology use, and the consequent impacts on academic success, might depend on the individual's existing cognitive skill set; especially their ability to exert self-regulatory control over behavior. Research indicates, for instance, that how closely an individual monitors and plans for interruptions, via executive control, mediates the relationship between multimedia interruptions and resultant stress ( Tams et al., 2015), and that differences in working memory capacity (which is closely linked to executive functioning) is a predictor of the speed of task resumption following an interruption ( Werner et al., 2011).

As a further point, it should be acknowledged that some of the cognitive and affective consequences of smartphone/technology habits may come from indirect impacts, such as through influences on sleep and mood. Quality of sleep has been shown to have a serious effect on cognitive performance ( Lim and Dinges, 2008), and considerable evidence implicates smartphone technology as a source of sleep disturbances ( Cain and Gradisar, 2010 for a review), with a compound effect on cognitive functioning and work engagement the following day ( Lanaj et al., 2014). An observation that predates the emergence of smartphone technology is that using electronic devices with a brightly lit screen immediately before bed, such as a television or a computer, can negatively impact one's ability to fall asleep. Smartphones potentially exacerbate this problem because people frequently keep and charge smartphones at their bedside, often using them as an alarm clock. Based on a recent survey, over 70% of Americans follow this behavioral pattern ( Trends in Consumer Mobility Report, 2015). Moreover, in addition to the bright light, it has been proposed that specific activities, such as social interactions and games, occurring via one's smartphone can lead to psychological arousal and stimulation that could further disrupt subsequent sleep ( Cain and Gradisar, 2010). Though most studies in this domain have had child and adolescent participants, recent research has affirmed that this effect can be seen in older adults as well ( Exelmans and Van den Bulck, 2016). Future research should investigate a direct relationship between habitual smartphone usage before bedtime and cognitive abilities. Furthermore, future research might attempt to identify if particular smartphone activities (e.g., gaming, passive or active social media use) are especially deleterious to sleep quality, and how notification settings may impact sleep disruption, and also consider how sleep-tracking apps (e.g., the recently introduced "Bedtime" feature on the iPhone operating system) might improve quantity or consistency of sleep.

Like depression, anxiety is known to have significant negative effects on several aspects of cognitive functioning ( American Psychiatric Association, 2013). In early work linking anxiety symptoms, technology habits, and cognitive functioning, Mark et al. (2012) found that limiting individuals' access to email reduced anxiety and improved later focus on work related tasks. A commonly repeated assertion regarding today's digital world is that people feel a 'need' for access to their phones. Researchers have gone so far as to refer to this phenomenon as a "phantom limb" ( Turkle, 2011). Similarly, "phantom vibration syndrome" describes a commonly experienced phenomenon in which people perceive a vibration in their pocket, when no such vibration occurred ( Rosen, 2013), and even when their phone is not in their pocket (for a review, see Deb, 2014). In acknowledging the strength of individuals' attachment to their smartphones, researchers have begun to investigate the degree to which separation from one's smart device can cause symptoms of anxiety. In one study ( Cheever et al., 2014), participants were randomly assigned to one of two groups. One group kept their phones with them for the entirety of the study with the ringer silenced and vibration turned off, whereas the second group had their phones removed from them for the duration of the study. The participants then completed a series of three anxiety assessments at 20-min intervals, followed by a wireless media device usage questionnaire. The researchers posited that the group that had their phones removed from them would experience significantly more anxiety than those who were allowed to keep their phones with them. Although this main effect was not observed, the researchers found that the group of participants who did not have their phones with them scored higher on each successive anxiety test, showing that their anxiety increased as a function of time without their phones. Additionally, the study found that individuals who scored higher on the wireless media device usage questionnaire had higher rates of increased anxiety for the later tests, regardless of whether their phone was taken from them or with them but silenced. These findings led the researchers to conclude that one's regular mobile device usage predicts the levels of anxiety that results from being separated from their device. However, it is also important to bear in mind that the directionality of the effect remains ambiguous, with research also suggesting that life-stress is predictive of mobile device usage, driven by the social support one can attain through using one's device ( Chiu, 2014).

Clayton et al. (2015) also investigated the impact of brief separation from a mobile device, but additionally assessed the potential impacts on cognition. The researchers focused exclusively on iPhone users, based on the ease with which one can toggle the iPhone's ringer. Upon arrival, participants were randomly assigned into one of two groups: one group completed a task that is sometimes used to measure sustained attention (a word-search task), first with their phones in their possession and then with their phones given to the experimenters, whereas these conditions were reversed in the second group. Physiological and self-report measures were used to track anxiety levels throughout the experiment. In this experiment, the researchers did more than simply separate the phone from its user; the phone was placed in an adjacent cubicle, and the experimenters placed a call to the phone so that it emitted a ring that the participants' presumably recognized as their own. The results showed that participants' anxiety levels were highest when they were separated from their ringing phones and lowest when their phones were in their possession. Moreover, the participants' performance on the word-search puzzles was significantly poorer when they were separated from their ringing phone.

The data provided by such experiments offer evidence of the psychological sway our digital lives can hold over us. Yet, there is nothing to indicate whether the resultant anxiety is specific to separation from one's smartphone, or whether the same effect might emerge when participants are separated from something else of subjective value, such as a wallet or personally cherished item. Moreover, the potential implications with respect to cognitive functioning are still limited in that a link between anxiety and cognition was established only via a word-search puzzle, a task that is somewhat idiosyncratic relative to tasks used more typically in cognitive research. The design also does not allow for a determination of whether the effect on word search performance was caused by the absence of the participants' phones or simply by the distraction of the ring.

Conclusion

Smartphones (and related mobile technologies) have the potential to affect a wide range of cognitive domains, but empirical research on the cognitive impacts of smartphone technology is still quite limited. This is understandable, given that the relevant technology itself is still young and constantly evolving. However, with each passing year, smartphones become more omnipresent in our lives. Rather than applying to only a niche group of individuals, the research conducted in this domain will soon be relevant to the majority of the world's population ( eMarketer, 2014). Therefore, it is crucial to understand how smartphone technology affects us so that we can take the steps necessary to mitigate the potential negative consequences.

Although the research concerning the potential cognitive impacts of smartphone technology is growing, the results remain contradictory and inconclusive. The at times contradictory findings suggest that not all smartphone use is created equal; certain apps, approaches to multitasking, or notification settings may moderate the relation between overall smartphone use and various cognitive skills. Despite the inconclusive nature of the literature, media headlines encourage a public perception that the findings are conclusive and that smartphones have a definite and negative impact on cognitive functioning. A common view, that smartphones are stifling our creativity by depriving our brains of downtime ( Richtel, 2010a), even led to a radio challenge, in which thousands of people reduced their smartphone usage in an attempt to increase their creativity ( Zomorodi, 2015). However, there is no extant research to validate the basic concern that motivated the challenge. Investigating the cognitive impacts of filling the small breaks in our day with inputs from smartphone engagement is perhaps another endeavor worth pursuing, but not one that is yet represented in the peer reviewed literature.

As discussed earlier in our review, there are many limitations to the literature that forms the basis for this paper. Chief among these is that there is very little longitudinal evidence on the long-term consequences of frequent smartphone usage. Now is the time to begin gathering the data for such studies. A particularly important topic that requires longitudinal data is the effect of smartphone ownership on young children. Despite widely publicized recommendations ( AAP Council on Communications and Media, 2016a, b), we know very little about the most appropriate age for a child to begin using a smartphone, and we know equally little about the consequences of using one too early in life. A longitudinal study with a large sample size should be developed in which children are assessed on a variety of cognitive (and affective) outcome measures at multiple time points. In a study such as this, data could also be gathered to ascertain the degree to which children with smartphones or other portable sources of immediate gratification, such as portable video game systems, are influenced by these devices. Analysis of group differences in rates of maturity of certain cognitive processes could also provide information about how smartphone technology can affect the brain during periods of heightened developmental plasticity. It is possible, but untested, that frequent smartphone usage could be less harmful to adults, whereas children may experience more negative consequences as a result of their increased neural plasticity.

If emerging research does suggest that there are serious consequences of smartphone usage, we need to investigate potential practical approaches that could mitigate these effects. Finally, the majority of the literature only speaks broadly about "smartphone usage." Future research should distinguish between specific types of smartphone usage, each of which are likely to have differential effects on the user. In particular, it seems likely that social activities such as text messaging, email, and social media use will have different impacts than gaming or browsing the web, yet very little is known about the specific concerns related to these seemingly disparate patterns of use.

As smartphones have worked their way into the pockets of over 70% of American adults, and nearly 50% of adults worldwide, there is also a great opportunity to use them as a tool for research ( Poushter, 2016). Scientists have already begun to suggest that smartphones could present a more convenient and more naturalistic method of gathering empirical data for cognitive and social psychology experiments ( Raento et al., 2009; Dufau et al., 2011; Miller, 2012). Moreover, as smartphones become increasingly interlaced with our cognitive functioning, it will be important to continue to gather detailed usage metrics to understand how these interactions are affecting us, and how are lives are accordingly shaped.

The research outlined in this paper lays a foundation on which a seemingly endless number of "next steps" can be imagined. There is an immense opportunity for additional research to be performed with the aim of giving psychologists and the world-at-large a better understanding the short-term and long-term effects of smartphone technology.

Author Contributions

HW and JC conceived and developed the project. HW conducted primary literature review with additional input from LS, both working under the supervision and guidance of JC. HW wrote the initial draft manuscript. JC provided primary editorial feedback, and both JC and LS contributed additional written sections to the manuscript. All authors were involved in final preparation of the manuscript.

Conflict of Interest Statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Footnotes

Funding. LS contributions to this work were supported in part by an National Science Foundation SBE-IBSS postdoctoral research award.

References

AAP Council on Communications and Media (2016a). [Media and Young Minds. Pediatrics Vol. 138. Available at:http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2016/10/19/peds.2016-2591. [PubMed] Google Scholar]

AAP Council on Communications and Media (2016b). [Media Use in School-Aged Children and Adolescents Vol. 138. Available at:http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi. [PubMed] Google Scholar]

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2011). [Mobile Device Use While Driving- United States and Seven European Countries Vol. 62 Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and PreventionGoogle Scholar]

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2016). [Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance-United States, 2015. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report Vol. 65 Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [PubMed] Google Scholar]

Hadar A. A., Eliraz D., Lazarovits A., Alyagon U., Zangen A. (2015). Using longitudinal exposure to causally link smartphone usage to changes in behavior, cognition and right prefrontal neural activity. [Brain Stimul. 8 318 10.1016/j.brs.2015.01.032 [CrossRef] Google Scholar]

Kirschner P. A., Karpinski A. C. (2010). Facebook[® and academic performance.Comput. Hum. Behav. 26 1237-1245. 10.1016/j.chb.2010.03.024 [CrossRef] Google Scholar]

Mills K. L. (2016). Possible effects of internet use on cognitive development in adolescence. [Med. Commun. 4 4 10.17645/mac.v4i3.516 [CrossRef] Google Scholar]

Parush A., Ahuvia S., Erev I. (2007). "Degradation in spatial knowledge acquisition when using automatic navigation systems," in [Spatial Information Theory eds Winter S., Duckham M., Kulik L., Kuipers B. (Berlin: Springer; ) 238-254.Google Scholar]

Trends in Consumer Mobility Report (2015). Available at. [http://newsroom.bankofamerica.com/files/doc_library/additional/2015_BAC_Trends_in_Consumer_Mobility_Report.pdf [accessed April 27, 2016].Google Scholar]

Zauberman G., Silverman J., Diehl K., Barasch A. (2015). Photographic memory: the effects of photo-taking on memory for auditory and visual information. [NA Adv. Consum. Res. 43 218-223.Google Scholar]

Articles from Frontiers in Psychology are provided here courtesy of Frontiers Media SA

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Smartphones and Cognition: A Review of Research Exploring the Links between Mobile Technology Habits and Cognitive Functioning

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
While smartphones and related mobile technologies are recognized as flexible and powerful tools that, when used prudently, can augment human cognition, there is also a growing perception that habitual involvement with these devices may have a negative ...

# data[].attributes.headline
Modern Technology Advantage and Disadvantages?

# data[].attributes.subject
Modern Technology Advantage and Disadvantages?

# data[].attributes.body
Advantage
Increasing Productivity in medicine and agriculture due to introduction of machinery.

Disadvantage.
Replacing human work force and making humans more and more obselete.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Today, technology is very important because it is used for almost everything and like everything, technology has advantages and disadvantages

In the world today, people cannot live without technologies such as televisions, mobile phones, computers and others.

These technologies have slowly taken an essential part in people's day-to-day lives and being without them would be unimaginable for some of us.

To understand technology, one must know what it provides in terms of advantages, but also disadvantages.

>See also: Tech Events Diary

Advantages of technology

First, the evolution of technology is beneficial to humans for several reasons. At the medical level, technology can help treat more sick people and consequently save many lives and combat very harmful viruses and bacteria.

The invention of the computer was a very important point. Communication is thus enhanced, and companies can communicate more easily with foreign countries. Research is also simplified.

For companies, progress in implementing strategic technology trends is helping them save time and therefore, money. Exchanges are faster especially with the internet. Sales and purchases are now facilitated and possible worldwide. This allows businesses to buy raw materials with discounts or at reduced prices. Similarly, global tourism has grown.

>See also: Technology is revolutionising the property industry

Technology has also increased the productivity of almost every industry in the world. Thanks to technology, we can even pay with bitcoins instead of using banks. The digital coin has been such a game changing factor, that many realised that this is the right time to open a bitcoin demo account.

When observed more closely, new things are discovered every day. Let's take for instance when radio waves were discovered, radio broadcasts followed suit almost immediately. The same applies to the television and electricity. If no one had discovered that electricity could be generated, then the entertainment industry wouldn't be at it's current stage of development.

Technology improves daily lives; allowing to move physical storage units to virtual storage banks and more. Scientists of the time are also able to send astronauts to the moon thanks to technology.

>See also: How digital technology is transforming internal communication

In the modern industrial world, machines carry out most of the agricultural and industrial work and as a result, workers produce much more goods than a century ago and work less. They have more time to exercise and work in safer environments.

Disadvantages and risks of technology

On the other hand, the evolution of modern technology has disadvantages, for example, dependence on new technology. Man no longer needs to think. Even if the calculator is a good invention, man no longer makes mental calculation and no longer works his memory. The decline of human capital implies an increase in unemployment. In some areas, devices can replace the human mind.

The use of technology certainly needs rule and new laws. For example internet use is an individual freedom. However, the invention of the atomic bomb cannot be an individual freedom. In fact, regulations are difficult to implement when these technologies are introduced - such as regulation surrounding the impending arrival of autonomous vehicles.

Finally, as most technological discoveries aim to reduce human effort, it would imply that more work is done by machines. This equates to less work for people: the human is becoming ever so obsolete by the day, as processes become automated and jobs are made redundant.

>See also: Key events in the story of technology

The negative impact of the influence of technology on children should not be underestimated as well.

This article is tagged with:

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Modern technology: advantages and disadvantages

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Today, technology is very important because it is used for almost everything and like everything, technology has advantages and disadvantages In the world today, people cannot live without technologies such as televisions, mobile phones, computers and others. These technologies have slowly taken an essential part in people's day-to-day lives and being without them would be unimaginable for some of us.

# data[].attributes.body
I decided to go with this font and colour palette to keep with a horror theme as this again might appeal to the audience. Description for why I chose the colours is in the TONE FOR VIDEO Section.

# data[].attributes.body
Free Horror Fonts Available

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Typography is a great art and technique. It is a best part of any sort of configuration venture, as text styles are utilized as a part of many activities, for example, web planning, logo outlines, card printing and so on. Around the world a huge number of visual designers are outlining such a variety of various types of textual styles as it has a major influence in plan and makes it all the more fascinating and innovative.

When we utilize some imaginative and one of a kind fonts in any outline, the entire look of the venture changes and a basic thing turns out to be super intriguing. Diverse fonts depict distinctive messages. If you commit mistake your design project can absolutely crash.

A text style has the ability to give the required look and feel to any outline and make it look more consideration getting and fascinating. The text styles come in perfect file kinds that are anything but difficult to insert in your venture and they offer the total arrangement of letters and images required.

Download and tweak to your preference while sparing time and hassle. Today we have collected 40 stunning horror fonts for your design related projects to make it spooky look. These free Halloween style fonts are the best spooky and dreadful textual styles accessible allowed to download, introduce, and use on your next Halloween extend.

The majority of these text styles are free for business utilize and you can utilize them in your activities. However ensure you read the authorizing and attribution necessities before downloading and utilizing them as a part of your work.

1. Something Strange Font

This is a very amazing font and you want to used this font for personal and commercial.

2. Riky Vampdator Normal Font

This is very cool and good horror style font for projects.

3. You Murderer BB Font

Really cool and vintage font to use. Good for horror related projects.

4. Shallow Grave BB Font Family

This font is very amazing and best for comic related work.

5. Blood Lust Font

This is a bloody style free font for Gothic style posters.

6. Another Danger

This font is perfect for horror related projects.

7. Blood Blocks

This is a box shaped blood splat style font design for your work.

8. Curse of the Zombie

This is a zombie style very useful and cool font for designers.

9. New Rocker Font

This is a stylish New Rocker font is best for tattoo inking.

10. Double Feature Font

I love this font because I have used this font my horror related projects.

11. Bloodthirsty Font

This is a ideal font for personal used and if you want to used in commercially so purchase the license.

12. Zombified

Font is a very important element for typography project. You can free download this font.

13. Brutal Tooth Font

You can used this font is web and graphic related work. This is a totally free font for download.

14. Nemo Nightmares Font

This font is free for personal use. This is perfect for Christmas inspired flyers and posters.

15. Jellyka Castle's Queen

Download this free font that is available for windows and mac.

16. Grunt Reaper Font

This is a round corners font design for graphic designers.

17. Black Widow

This is a spider web inspired free font for Horror movies.

18. A Lolita Scorned Font

This spooky style font for free download and best for party flyers, posters and invitation cards.

19. Gypsy Curse Font

This retro style Gothic and best free horror fonts for personal use.

20. Zombie Holocaust

Download free and creative Zombie Holocaust textual style accessible for Windows and Mac.

21. Groovy Ghosties Font

This is a creative and best cartoon style best free horror fonts design fro your inspiration.

22. October Crow - Best Free Horror Fonts

This is the one of the cool and wonderful best free horror fonts that is mostly used in horror movies, posters and novels.

23. Kreepshow Frigid Font

This is an other spooky inspired fire style free horror fonts. You can easily download for free.

24. Ghastly Panic Font

This font is ideal for Halloween party flyers and posters.

25. Horror23 Regular

This font is great for Halloween theme design or invitation cards that is free for personal use.

26. Black Asylum Font

27. Bloody

28. Ghost Reverie Font

29. Nightbird

30. DK Mothman Font

31. Bates Shower

32. HoMicIDE EFfeCt Font

33. Ninja Turtle

34. 4 DOGS Font

35. Fuehrer Font

36. Spiders Font - Best Free Horror Fonts

37. The Biz Font

38. Face Your Fears Font

39. CF My Bloody Valentine Font

40. Crucifixion Font

If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
40 Best Free Horror Fonts for Designers - TutorialChip

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Typography is a great art and technique. It is a best part of any sort of configuration venture, as text styles are utilized as a part of many activities, for example, web planning, logo outlines, card printing and so on.

# data[].attributes.body
Font Site

# data[].attributes.body
Font Site

# data[].attributes.body
Font Site

# data[].attributes.body
My audience will probably not be interested in a product that will tell them something they already know: e.g. get out and spend time with your friends and family. A lot of adolescents probably feel nagged by adults about what is best for them. They are also very good at using apps and distinguishing their needs and expressing their creativity.

I want them to feel understood, inspired and energised so that they can get out and socialise.

I want them to experience a bold change in their mood. I want the ad to appeal to youth and I want them to transition from isolation to excitement.

I believe a strong mid vibrant red is a great primary colour as it is energising and youthful, which will help appeal to this audience. I am adding some pink and black to compliment as the stark contrast can add an element of edginess and make more of a statement. I will also add accents of green or use green to highlight the sense of nature and health at the end of the ad.

A bold striking grung-y font will probably be best. See images of ideas.

# data[].attributes.body
Gender: Female
Age Group: 13-19yrs (teens and adolescents)
Professional Status: Student.

Message of my promotion is 'TO GET REAL and GET OUT'
I am using a slur styled statement that can be construed as telling someone to get stuffed. As I feel this will land boldly with the demographic who like to feel like they can be rude to be cool. The actual message is to bring awareness to phone addiction and that friends online are not the same as friends in real life. And it is to market an app that you can add your mood into and get feedback on the types of activities that are available in the area that can suit that feeling. The app will also bring up a message box to contact 3 friends from the friend list who also updated the same mood. Ironically, I am marketing the app by focusing on phone usage in the promo video and then turning around and ending it with the message above which will then cut to the actual app.

During my research I was able to determine that excessive phone usage was prevalent in adolescents and out of this demographic female users tended to be slightly more vulnerable to phone addiction.

# data[].attributes.body
Mobile Phones and Mental Well-Being: Initial Evidence suggesting the importance of staying connected to family in rural, remote communities in Uganda

# data[].attributes.body
During Research, I noticed that there are is a lot of information on how technology had helped with increased creativity, story-telling, safety.
But the articles on the disadvantages on mental health outweighed articles on the positive affects on mental wellness.

# data[].attributes.headline
Article on advancement in Film due to tech advancements

# data[].attributes.subject
Article on advancement in Film due to tech advancements

# data[].attributes.headline
Positive use of tech for storytelling in Museums

# data[].attributes.subject
Positive use of tech for storytelling in Museums

# data[].attributes.body
An article that positively highlights the impact of tech advancements on social culture.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Using technology in museums can start from the smallest of organisations creating a Twitter account to engage and pass on essential information to their audience to more ambitious projects such as Kendal Museum in Cumbria digitising its entire natural history collection and launching a new website so the whole world can connect with its 5,700-strong collection of minerals and pressed flowers.

However, it is to the larger museums that we look to see the even more pioneering developments and innovations that are transforming the way the sector uses technology to showcase its collections and engage with its visitors. Such as the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian National Design Museum in New York which has designed an electronic pen, which allows visitors to "collect" information as they make their way around the museum and then access a dedicated website post visit to see what they have collected, and thus continue the museum journey.

Here M+H Advisor provides six case studies (below) from both suppliers and museums that are using technology to improve the way the sector tells its stories and presents its collections.

With the advent of smartphones, tablets and apps, museums are well aware that they are now competing with a plethora of mobile games such as Candy Crush and thousands of news outlets that provide instant information at the tap of a finger. This has also presented its own opportunities for museums and cultural organisations wanting to make their collections more accessible, promote education and enhance the visitor experience in a cost effective way.

Therefore constantly rethinking how museums use technology has become a factor in how agile an organisation is and how appealing its exhibitions are. Experts are quick to point, however, that technology is not a magic wand that can alter the state of a museum's outlook, its ideas and objects, but that it is something that needs to be carefully considered and not used for the sake of it.

"Depending on how technology is used it could bring an added layer of storytelling," says Mar Dixon, a social media and audience development consultant. "However, just [last month] I went to a wonderful museum (Naturhistorisches Museum Wien) where there was no technology but I had a lovely experience. So, it is important to look at your public and see what they are using/wanting and if your collection is right for it."

Having said that, as a new generation of museum goers emerges from a childhood not knowing anything but the smartphone world, it is becoming more apparent that they will expect new ideas in museum interpretation to include the use of interactive technology.

"As a society, we are using technology on a daily basis," says Dixon. "It's part of our behaviour now. If we don't try to include that behaviour in museums, we're going to get pushed aside as people visit other attractions that are giving them that seamless experience."

Dixon says that sometimes using technology for the benefit of visitors can be as simple as having WiFi and allowing photography. This can then become more advanced, for example the British Museum, which recently launched new audio guides to enhance the visitor experience and Historic Royal Palaces, featured as a case study, which is working on a new visitor attraction called The Lost Palace, which includes a beating heart that beats faster as the visitor follows Charles I's path to the gallows.

"I keep going on about wearable technologies and I still stand by that being the next big thing that will shift the way we behave again," she says. "We're already wearing fitbits and smartwatches but museums aren't really looking into how that maybe able to fit into our experience. Beacons, augmented reality and virtual reality seem to be the main focus which is great but it's not the technology that everyone will feel comfortable with. Again, it's finding that balance of what will work for your collection/stories."

In the US the Museums Computer Network (MCN) holds an annual conference where museum professionals descend on selected city and exchange ideas on technology in museums. Established in 1967, MCN's executive director Eric Longo says its very mission is to support museum professionals so they can empower their institutions to embrace the digital world.

Even so one of the key outcomes of its latest conference held in Minneapolis last month was: People first, technology second. The conference also focused on how technology can work for the betterment of society and, among many other topics; the delegates looked at social justice and how museums can use digital tools to improve the lives of the people they aim to serve, accessibility.

"Digital technologies have radically transformed how we connect with each other, how we relate to the world, and how we conduct business," says Longo. "We constantly use digital tools to perform daily tasks at home and at work. Not only do museums and cultural heritage sites not have a choice in whether or not to embrace this 'new normal', they owe it to the communities they serve to meet and engage them in a digital context."

Longo believes the challenges vary greatly based on the size of any particular organisation, with large institutions having made some incredible strides in digitally transforming themselves over the past 15 years such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which now employs 70 staff in its digital department.

Smaller institutions, he says, often face a very different reality: limited in their capacity to invest in technology infrastructure and projects, they also have a much harder time to attract digital talent to lead digital transformation for them.

"But some challenges are universal: digital projects require iterative and nimble workflows and processes that challenge traditional hierarchies, forcing staff to collaborate across departments, and digital forces museums to have a certain appetite for risk," he says. "Museums must also be vigilant not to fall for the latest digital innovation but to really focus on how they can leverage the right technology tools that best support their mission."

Longo says social media technologies have made museums much more transparent and actively engaged with audiences globally. "Mobile has also shifted the balance of power between museums and their visitors who can now satisfy their curiosity on their own terms at the tip of their fingers," he says.

The challenge for museums, he says, is to meet their visitors where they are. Longo believes that mobile technology has forced museums to become more accessible by optimising their website, developing interpretive apps, digitising their collections and making them available to the public, allowing visitors to take photographs and sharing them online.

"Initial reticence around some of these trends has gradually given way to embracing them," he says.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Technology in Museums: making the latest advances work for our cultural institutions

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Using technology in museums can start from the smallest of organisations creating a Twitter account to engage and pass on essential information to their audience to more ambitious projects such as Kendal Museum in Cumbria digitising its entire natural history collection and launching a new website so the whole world can connect with its 5,700-strong collection of minerals and pressed flowers.

# data[].attributes.headline
How using a mobile platform for e-commerce helps boost sales for online stores.

# data[].attributes.subject
How using a mobile platform for e-commerce helps boost sales for online stores.

# data[].attributes.body
Article on overall advancements in tech that have helped e-commerce with a point on mobile platforms being an important factor in increased revenue.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Technological advancements have had a huge impact on the ecommerce world, transforming the way consumers connect with brands and empowering them to shop more effectively. Driven by the convenience of getting products delivered at home, ecommerce has now become an integral part of everyday life.

Strategic plans, competitive marketing, and a skilled workforce, all need to be accompanied by the latest technologies. These technological advancements have enabled ecommerce companies to meet perople's purchasing needs with ease and speed. Customers can get anything at the click of a button, all thanks to the latest available technology.

Now customers can track their orders, find the best deals and much more besides. With all this progress, new business opportunities are inevitably emerging.

So, let's discuss some of these ecommerce technology trends and their implications for driving forward ecommerce success.

1. The necessity of omnichannel presence and support

Modern shopping habits involve a process of cross-channel research, consideration, and purchase. Indeed the statistics show that 90 percent of customers expect smooth interactions across multiple channels and devices, highlighting the importance of omnichannel readiness for today's businesses.

Making use of the right technology means providing customers with not only what they want when they want it, but where they want it too.

Here are some methods and technologies that work well in an interconnected customer journey:

Video Chat allows your business to interact face-to-face with customers creating a personalized, cross-channel, visually demonstrative and consultative experience.

Cobrowsing is a visual engagement system bringing your agents and customers together on the same page, at the same time, allowing agents to seamlessly guide your customers through complex procedures.

Screen Sharing is a method of interacting where your customers share their screen with your agents to resolve difficulties filling forms, completing transactions, etc.

Document Interaction provides a platform for your agents to interact with your customers' documents safely and includes e-signature technologies for enhanced security.

If you're on Shopify, or plan to give it a try, check out this podcast on how you can provide improved, omnichannel experiences on your Shopify store.
2. The need for extensive personalization

"The customer journey is changing. Consumers want everything, and they want it immediately. Experience matters than anything else - and the technology at our fingertips enable such amazing experiences, only desired in today's fast-paced world." - Sam Hurley

Personalization is the biggest trend in ecommerce right now. Consumers have come to expect a relevant shopping experience based on their personal preferences.

The statistics show more than 78 percent of customers ignore offers that aren't personalized or based on their previous engagement with the brand. This shows how important personalization in marketing and personalized customer support has become.

Effective personalization comes from understanding customers' preferences and behavior. Fortunately, ecommerce technology has now evolved to provide that level of insight. Nearly every user action online is captured and stored, creating a vast pool of information known as big data.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning analytics drive customer behavior patterns, whilst simultaneously interpreting this data, meaning businesses are provided with a cycle of desires and expectations, creating endless possibilities.

Big data, machine learning, and AI have made personalization the norm, with businesses catering their support and services to reflect this.

3. The shift to mobile

Mobile platforms have increased in importance, so much so that m-commerce has emerged as a concept in its own right.

Failing to provide a mobile-oriented shopping experience will certainly not help you win potential customers that place high importance on mobile. Equipping yourself with mobile-friendly technology is crucial in maximizing your chances of future success.

Consider:

Ecommerce mobile apps. Apps offer customers continuous engagement with your brand and the chance for your customers to familiarize themselves with new and relevant purchasing opportunities.

Location-based marketing. Use your customers' geographical whereabouts to market products relevant to their specific location.

VR/AR guidance. Integrating VR and AR technologies provides an immersive mobile shopping experience for your customers, connecting them with your brand in a deeper and more meaningful way.

Internet of Things (IoT). The IoT stems from the desire to better understand consumer trends across a range of connected devices. The scope it provides for delivering personalized mobile shopping experiences to your customers is almost limitless.

4. The rise of conversational marketing

Traditional marketing channels flow only in one direction. The new concept of conversational marketing has opened up two-way communication, creating numerous opportunities for ecommerce success.

Getting information directly from customers makes more sense than attempting to predict it. You can establish a personalized, real-time, one-on-one conversation on the back of this, safe in the knowledge you truly understand your customers' needs.

Below are some of the most efficient technologies for nurturing customer conversations:

Chatbots. Chatbots are excellent conversational marketing tools, capable of handling multiple conversations at any one time. They provide your customers with answers, drawing on knowledge pooled from multiple channels, whilst maintaining a consistent tone for your brand.

Live chat. Live chat allows your support teams to communicate with customers through live messaging. You can initiate a preemptive chat invitation to particular customers based on their behavior.

Mobile messaging. Smartphones are another way for your business to reach out to customers. With potential fatigue from the onslaught of promotional emails, talk with them through mobile messaging apps instead.

5. The implementation of AI and chatbots into customer communications

Artificial Intelligence plays an important role in everyday life, having a major impact on how we live and work. There are several examples of AI and automation tools with customer service applications for your business, including voice-powered assistants such as Apple's Siri, Google's home and Amazon Echo. Research shows that 45 percent of millennials are already using this type of voice activated search for online shopping.

Chatbots and virtual assistants represent the future for businesses. Some are already integrating chatbots in their systems to improve their customers' experience and boost brand image.

With the help of chatbots you can order food, check in luggage at the airport, book a hotel room, schedule your flight, and get recommendations for almost anything you can think of. The Starbucks chatbot for example gives customers details regarding their order status, payment details etc.

6. The importance of image search

Ecommerce businesses are integrating image search technology on their websites so customers can easily photograph products they are interested in and find similar examples on other sites that may be offering better deals.

Imagine someone sees a beautiful couch, but it costs too much for them. If your business offers similar products at a more reasonable price, integrating image search into your website will allow you to potentially pick up on this sale, creating an extra revenue stream.

7. The efficiency of checkout processes

Cart abandonment is the most frustrating reason for losing a sale because it means a user was considering buying your product, only to change their mind at the last minute. Data shows a 79 percent global rate of cart abandonment, highlighting how big a problem it is.

One of the main reasons customers abandon their carts is the checkout procedure itself. No matter how well the lead has been nurtured, inefficient checkout processes raise the chances your users will abandon their cart.

Therefore, if you want your ecommerce company to be successful, embrace technology that provides quick and efficient checkout solutions, such as:

Speedy mobile payment solutions, including Apple Pay and Android Pay.

Enabling your customers to save card details, streamlining repeat purchases.

Providing one-page, hassle-free checkouts.

Offering a range of payment options.

Equipped with this technology, your business can alleviate any potential difficulties customers may encounter at checkout.

Keep abreast of ecommerce Technology Trends

Many successful ecommerce ventures have got to where they are on the back of the cutting edge technology they employ. Take the opportunity to understand new technologies to deliver improved service to your customers and your company's bottomline will reap the benefits, too.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
7 ecommerce technology trends that empower your business

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Technological advancements have had a huge impact on the ecommerce world, transforming the way consumers connect with brands and empowering them to shop more effectively. Driven by the convenience of getting products delivered at home, ecommerce has now become an integral part of everyday life.

# data[].attributes.headline
Positive Use for lone workers with Smart Phones

# data[].attributes.subject
Positive Use for lone workers with Smart Phones

# data[].attributes.body
Allows for GPS tracking, community networking for wellbeing, Fall detection, discreet panic triggers, duress pins.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Advancements in mobile technology aid lone worker safety | StaySafe

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
How can advancements in mobile technology aid the safety of lone workers? We delve into how some of tech's leaps and bounds have shaped our market.

# data[].attributes.headline
Technological Improvements in today's phones

# data[].attributes.subject
Technological Improvements in today's phones

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.computerworld.com/article/3222855/11-tech-breakthroughs-that-led-to-todays-smartphones.html

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
It may be hard to believe, but new types of jobs are being created. Technology plays a big role in that! Advancements make some jobs obsolete, but also spawn new jobs that weren't around 20 years ago. In another 20 years more than half of the current elementary school student population will have jobs that have yet to be created.

While I was growing up, during the beginning of the social surge, little did we know that our desire for constant connectivity would soon change the lives of most Americans. Cellphones were rarely owned and laptops were out of price range for the modern middle class family. Then advancement accelerated and cellphones, laptops, internet games, webpages, and social media changed the culture and lives of Americans. Who can forget the sound of the Gateway desktops' hum as it turned on or AOL's classic screeching as you logged in?

Between 2000 and 2010 computer-based jobs were taking off and inhigh demand. Fifteen years ago, there were no app developers, social media managers, cloud computing, or user experience jobs. The innovation and progression of the digital world created these jobs and many others.

Creativity is the spark behind the formation of new technologies. Learning about the iPod, FitBit, Hover boards, Netflix, Amazon, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, Smart TV's, Wi-Fi, eReaders, and so much more, and I think: "Wow! How was someone able to create this? This is incredible!" The answer? Innovation. Creativity. Progress.

Steve Jobs was encouraged by his parents to reconstruct and build technologies and to continually push boundaries and to be bold. Maybe that's part of the reason why he was able to lead Apple into the 21 st century and make it one of the most popular brands and companies around the world. Reed Hastings was determined to develop Netflix after he was charged a $40 late fee on an overdue rental from Blockbuster. Hastings is an innovator who pushed the boundaries and continued to explore his ideas, even when Netflix was an underdog trying to enter and compete in the movie rental industry. Mark Zuckerberg was groundbreaking as a child, he created his own messaging program to communicate with his family members around the house when he was only 12 years old. Zuckerberg continued his inventive ways and learned more about computers all the way through high school.

Fortunately, for Jobs, Hastings, and Zuckerberg they had supportive people around them to encourage their expeditions and creativity. Some children are not given such luxury. With the increasing demand for technological advancement parents and teachers need to encourage and allow children to be creative. In 20 years these kids are likely to have jobs years that have not yet been created. These jobs are going to be shaped through innovation, progress, and creativity. I would expect educational values to evolve over the next decade to incorporate more inventiveness and use of technology to meet the needs of these emerging new jobs. Hastings, Zuckerberg, Jobs, and many more all broke the mold by challenging themselves and making bold moves along the way to success. If there is anything we can learn from their success, it's to be creative, challenge yourself/your partners, and know that innovation is going to happen. So get inspired, be daring, and continue to innovate and advance your own ideas and products.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How Does Creativity and Inspiration Lead to Technological Advancements and New Careers? - Extreme Networks

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
It may be hard to believe, but new types of jobs are being created. Technology plays a big role in that! Advancements make some jobs obsolete, but also spawn new jobs that weren't around 20 years ago. In another 20 years more than half of the current elementary school student population will have jobs that have yet to be created.

# data[].attributes.headline
Mind Map for Promo Video: Challenging Consumption as a symptom of Perception

# data[].attributes.subject
Mind Map for Promo Video: Challenging Consumption as a symptom of Perception

# data[].attributes.body
Whilst working on this mind-map, collaborating and using tutor feedback; I was able to narrow down my 30 second PROMO to the concept of phone addiction: virtual connection vs real connection. Using a fantasy app that can change lives and then changing the narrative to show that it's only virtual, highlighting the importance of real connection.

# data[].attributes.body
Cell-Phone Addiction: A Review

# data[].attributes.body
The invisible addiction: Cell-phone activities and addiction among male and female college students

# data[].attributes.body
Mobile-phone addiction in adolescence: The test of Mobile Phone Dependence

# data[].attributes.body
I need my smartphone: A heirarchial model of personality and cell-phone addiction

# data[].attributes.body
So far my research shows that the group that is most affected by phone addiction are adolescents who are lonely, isolated and/or struggling with an underlying mental illness.
This gives me a target audience for my promo.

# data[].attributes.headline
How Phone Technology helps with mental wellness 

# data[].attributes.subject
How Phone Technology helps with mental wellness 

# data[].attributes.body
Based on the below article. Phone technology has enabled the normalisation of mental illness where there was a lot more stigma around this topic, due to increased access to social networking apps that allow ease of information reach. There are also numerous games, apps and information platforms that help people who are experiencing mental health issues.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/v7xk25ercx3jwa7/Screenshot%202020-01-23%2016.03.31.png?dl=0

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.helpguide.org/articles/mental-health/social-media-and-mental-health.htm

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.helpguide.org/articles/mental-health/social-media-and-mental-health.htm

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.dropbox.com/s/5cymuzdwa78exzs/Screenshot%202020-01-23%2015.54.22.png?dl=0

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.helpguide.org/articles/addictions/smartphone-addiction.htm

# data[].attributes.body
What if social media was our reality and our physical worlds were not?

What if we spent all our time creating a cyber life and we just existed in our physical worlds to ensure that our cyber reality was to our standards so that we can cyber socialise etc.

# data[].attributes.body
I am finding I have hit a complete wall after just 30 entries. And after watching the tutorials on challenging assumptions. I have started to notice how much of my perspective and possibly many others are coloured by our consumption of media. This is something that i've known but the issue, is that its a vortex that pulls us in without our knowing, it's subtle and completely encompassing.

# data[].attributes.body
What if it was not fantasy?

# data[].attributes.headline
How much does social media manipulate our view of the world?

# data[].attributes.subject
How much does social media manipulate our view of the world?

# data[].attributes.body
Is this a sign of the times? Invasion of Privacy or Increased convenience ?

# data[].attributes.headline
Photography: Using stills and text to create video and story.

# data[].attributes.subject
Photography: Using stills and text to create video and story.

# data[].attributes.body
Unlike a stop motion.

# data[].attributes.headline
Social Media: Using Social media platforms as a creative outlet.

# data[].attributes.subject
Social Media: Using Social media platforms as a creative outlet.

# data[].attributes.headline
Meditation: Are more people turning toward slowing down and holistic approaches to wellness?

# data[].attributes.subject
Meditation: Are more people turning toward slowing down and holistic approaches to wellness?

# data[].attributes.body
Plant forward
Recovery Focused
Slowing Down
Primal Movement
Personalised E-plans
Wearable Tech
Sober Curiosity
Cold Workouts
Smart Gym Tech
Circadiam Rythm Fasts

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The last decade has been all about going harder and faster all day, every day. We saw the rise of high-intensity interval training, the adoption of restrictive diets like keto, and thanks to new apps and advances in technology, an explosion in access to resources previously reserved for the rich and famous.

2020 is shaping up to be a direct reaction to not only the last year, but more so the last decade. "People are starting to realize that sometimes, less can actually be more," says Francheska Martinez, Austin-based fitness and movement trainer. The next year (and probably the decade to follow) will be all about slowing down - your workouts, your stress levels, your drinking habits.

We've polled some of the best trainers and nutritionists in the industry to round up what they predict will be the biggest wellness trends in 2020. Here's the top 10.

Recovery-Focused Training

For years, we've focused on training hard. Now, we're turning to recovering hard. "If you train at a high capacity for weeks on end without proper rest and recovery, your returns diminish and you're increasing your risk for injury," says Martinez. Accessories like compression boots are trending, and even recovery-focused studios and services like flotation therapy, cryotherapy, and recovery IVs will all become more a part of people's training regimine, agrees trainer Megan Roup, creator of The Sculpt Society.

A Plant-Forward Diet

There's nothing new about the idea that cutting back on meat will benefit our health and environment. But among a rise in climate change advocacy, documentaries like Game Changers, and meat alternatives like the Impossible Burger being added to fast food menus and grocery store shelves nationwide, we're seeing a massive movement toward being more plant-forward rather than meat-forward. Let's be clear: that's not the same as being full vegan. "It's more about getting the benefits of eating more plants without having to follow strict diet rules," says DJ Blatner, RDN, author of The Flexitarian Diet. "It's about just eating what works for you without labeling it."
RELATED: The Diet Trends That Dominated the Last Decade
Wearable Tech

Smart watches, sleep trackers, activity trackers - wearable tech is definitely still trending. In fact, it's the top trend predict for 2020 by The American College of Sports Medicine in their annual survey. "People want to track all aspects of their life, and having that data seems to help inspire them to do more," says Kenny Santucci, personal trainer and coach at SOLACE New York. In 2020, what we'll see is more accuracy and accessibility - downloadable maps for trail running off the grid, features like electrocardiogram to monitor heart problems closer, and sleep trackers that determine what kind of workout your body is most rested for.
RELATED: How to Sleep Better in 2020
Primal Movement Training

Functional fitness - that is, strengthening and loosening our natural body movements - has traditionally focused around squats, presses, pulls. The newest iteration: primal movement, a part-dance, part-mobility workout we're seeing in classes like "Animal Flow" at Equinox and Gold's Gyms across the country. " In recent years, moving your body like a caveman has begun to spread like wildfire not only due to it's dance-like appeal, but also to its plethora of health benefits," says Martinez. "Primal movements aren't just flashy and fun, but they help with coordination, core strength, neurological development, and weight loss as well."

Slowing Down for Hormonal Health

If we've learned anything over the past decade, it's that Americans are seriously stressed and paying for it with their health. "Cortisol is the main hormone we talk about when we think about stress. It's our 'fight or flight' response and a lot of everyday things we do - like dragging ourselves to an intensive workout - cause it to spike. We need cortisol, but most of us are functioning with too much at all times due to lifestyle factors," says New York-based dietician Lisa Hayim, R.D. Prioritizing things like recovery training, meditation and mindfulness, and mental health days will all continue to rise. And while we've known we need to slow down for a while, what's new for 2020 will be doing less without the guilt, Hayim predicts.
RELATED: How to Meditate If You Have Anxiety
Personalized Online Training Plans

The late 2010s have seen the rise of InstaTrainers and devotees following their training plans (see: Karina and Katrina, Kayla Itsines, and Kelsey Wells). But 2020 will take it one step further, with more and more ladies turning to personalized or nearly-personal plans from online trainers. Almost all trainers offer one-on-one digital plans and coaching, but more are doing subscription-based services now where you pay a set amount per month for access to five to seven workouts per week. It's cheaper than in-person personal training in a gym, yet still offers some level of personalized guidance for the money, says Morit Summers, owner of FormFitness Brooklyn who does online training for many clients, the majority of which she says have found her online.

Sober Curiosity

It doesn't always take a drinking problem to justify giving up drinking. Ruby Warrington's Sober Curious, published at the end of 2018, has caught like wildfire over the past year. The basic premise? Hangovers are the worst and alcohol may be keeping you from living your best life. "It used to be that any social occasion or celebration meant alcohol. The 2020 trend is about finding social things to do or ways to celebrate without alcohol, usually in pursuit of greater health and wellness," says Blatner. This movement is about being curious what it's like to be tuned-in, instead of numb to the people and things around you, she says.
RELATED: What Is Dry January and Is It Worth It? Here Are the Health Benefits
Smart Gym Tech

People want the convenience of working out at home, but the community aspect has been missing up until now, says trainer and yogi Shauna Harrison, Ph.D. Peloton and MIRROR both are blowing up because they offer ways to interact with others without actually being in the studio - and we'll probably see more brands starting to replicate this model, she says.

Cold Workouts

Gone are the days of equating more sweat with burning more body fat. "Whether it's hot yoga or heated spin, exercising in a hot room is far less effective at increasing your metabolism than exercising in a cold room. Moreover, research shows us that exercising in a cold room feels easier and you can do it for longer," says LA-based trainer Harley Pasternak. While we've already seen cold studios popping up, like Brrrn in New York (where you work out in a 45-degree room), we're going to see more and more of this as we enter 2020, says Pasternak.

Circadian-Synced Intermittent Fasting

We know intermittent fasting - that is, limiting the hours you eat within and elongating how long you fast for - can help with everything from weight loss, to longevity, to reducing major disease risk and improving your digestion. The problem: It's really hard to wait till 2 p.m. to eat breakfast. What's more, eating helps alert your body it's time to wake up, so waiting until noon or later to eat your first meal can interfere with your circadian rhythm (your natural, 24-hour clock that regulates when you're tired and awake), says Kelly LeVeque, holistic nutritionist, celebrity health coach, and author of Body Love. She's encouraging her clients to approach IF slightly differently: Eat when it's light out and stop eating once it's dark. This reaps all the benefits of a longer fast while still supporting and syncing with your circadian rhythm.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
These Will Be the Biggest Wellness Trends in 2020

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The last decade has been all about going harder and faster all day, every day. We saw the rise of high-intensity interval training, the adoption of restrictive diets like keto, and thanks to new apps and advances in technology, an explosion in access to resources previously reserved for the rich and famous.

# data[].attributes.headline
Picasso: What made his work so timeless?

# data[].attributes.subject
Picasso: What made his work so timeless?

# data[].attributes.body
What are the benefits, is it worth noting and do we need to address this in our own lives?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Mindful eating involves paying closer attention to your food and how it makes you feel. In addition to helping you learn to distinguish between physical and emotional hunger, it may also help reduce disordered eating behaviors and support weight loss.

Mindful eating is a technique that helps you better manage your eating habits. It has been shown to promote weight loss, reduce binge eating, and help you feel better.

This article explains mindful eating, how it works, and what you need to do to get started.

Mindful eating is based on mindfulness, which is a Buddhist concept.

Mindfulness is a form of meditation that helps you recognize and cope with your emotions and physical sensations (, ).

It's used to treat many conditions, including eating disorders, depression, anxiety, and various food-related behaviors (, , , ).

Mindful eating is about using mindfulness to reach a state of full attention to your experiences, cravings, and physical cues when eating ().

Fundamentally, mindful eating involves:

eating slowly and without distraction

listening to physical hunger cues and eating only until you're full

distinguishing between true hunger and non-hunger triggers for eating

engaging your senses by noticing colors, smells, sounds, textures, and flavors

learning to cope with guilt and anxiety about food

eating to maintain overall health and well-being

noticing the effects food has on your feelings and body

appreciating your food

These things allow you to replace automatic thoughts and reactions with more conscious, health-promoting responses ().

SUMMARY
Mindful eating relies on mindfulness, a form of meditation. Mindful eating is about developing awareness of your experiences, physical cues, and feelings about food.

Today's fast-paced society offers people an abundance of food choices.

On top of that, distractions have shifted attention away from the actual act of eating toward televisions, computers, and smartphones.

Eating has become a mindless act, often done quickly. This can be problematic since it takes time for your brain to register that you're full.

If you eat too fast, the fullness signal may not arrive until you have already eaten too much. This is very common in binge eating disorder (BED).

By eating mindfully, you restore your attention and slow down, making eating an intentional act instead of an automatic one.

What's more, by increasing your recognition of physical hunger and fullness cues, you can distinguish between emotional and true physical hunger ().

You also increase your awareness of triggers that make you want to eat, even though you're not necessarily hungry ().

Knowing your triggers allows you to create a space between them and your response, giving you the time and freedom to choose how to react.

SUMMARY
Mindful eating helps you distinguish between emotional and physical hunger. It also increases your awareness of food-related triggers and gives you the freedom to choose your response to them.

It's well known that most weight loss programs do not work in the long term.

In fact, some research suggests that people tend to regain about half of the lost weight after 2 years and 80% of the lost weight after 5 years ().

BED, emotional eating, external eating, and eating in response to food cravings have been linked to weight gain and regain after successful weight loss (, , ).

Chronic exposure to stress may also play a large role in overeating and obesity (, ).

Most studies agree that mindful eating helps you lose weight by changing your eating behaviors and reducing stress ().

Interestingly, one review of 10 studies found that mindful eating was as effective for weight loss as conventional diet programs ().

Another study involving 34 females found that completing a 12-week training on mindful eating resulted in an average weight loss of 4 pounds (lb) or 1.9 kilograms (kg) and improved feelings of self-awareness, self-acceptance, and self-compassion ().

By changing the way you think about food, the negative feelings that may be associated with eating are replaced with awareness, improved self-control, and positive emotions (, ).

When unwanted eating behaviors are addressed, your chances of long-term weight loss success are increased.

SUMMARY
Mindful eating may aid weight loss by changing eating behaviors and reducing the stress associated with eating.

BED involves eating a large amount of food in a short time, mindlessly and without control ().

It has been linked to weight gain, obesity, and disordered eating behaviors like purging or compulsive exercise (, , ).

Practicing mindfulness and mindful eating may drastically reduce the severity and frequency of BED episodes ( 23, ).

In fact, one study found that mindfulness-based cognitive therapy improved eating behaviors and enhanced restraint over food intake when added to usual care in people with BED and bulimia nervosa ().

SUMMARY
Mindful eating can help prevent binge eating. It can both reduce the frequency of binging episodes and their severity.

In addition to being an effective treatment for binge eating, mindful eating methods have also been shown to reduce (, ):

Emotional eating: This is the act of eating in response to certain emotions ().

External eating: This occurs when you eat in response to environmental, food-related cues, such as the sight or smell of food ().

Unhealthy eating behaviors like these are the most commonly reported behavioral problems in people with obesity.

Mindful eating teaches you the skills you need to manage these impulses. It puts you in charge of your responses instead of at the whim of your instinct.

SUMMARY
Mindful eating may effectively treat common, unhealthy eating behaviors like emotional and external eating.

To practice mindfulness, you need a series of exercises and meditations ().

Many people find it helpful to attend a seminar, online course, or workshop on mindfulness or mindful eating.

But there are many simple ways to get started, some of which can have powerful benefits on their own ():

Eating more slowly - not rushing your meals.

Chewing thoroughly.

Eliminating distractions; for example, turning off the TV and putting down your phone.

Eating in silence.

Focusing on how the food makes you feel.

Stopping eating when you're full.

Asking yourself why you're eating, whether you're truly hungry, and whether the food you chose is nutritious.

To begin with, it's a good idea to pick one meal per day to focus on these points.

Once you feel confident in practicing the techniques, mindfulness will become more natural. Then you can focus on implementing these methods during more meals.

SUMMARY
Mindful eating takes practice. Try to eat more slowly, chew thoroughly, remove distractions, and stop eating when you're full.

What are some mindful eating habits?

Minimizing distractions during meals is a great way to get started with mindful eating. Other habits can include chewing your food more thoroughly, savoring each bite, and evaluating how you feel before, during, and after your meal ().

Can you lose weight by mindful eating?

Mindful eating has been shown to reduce emotional and external eating, which can be beneficial for weight management ().

It may also help you learn to distinguish between physical and emotional hunger to prevent overeating and foster improved awareness of your food choices ().

What foods are good for mindful eating?

You can practice mindful eating with virtually any food in your diet. However, some foods may take more time to prepare and enjoy, making paying closer attention to your meal easier as you start experimenting with mindful eating.

For example, pomegranates require you to cut, score, and section the fruit before popping out the individual seeds. Similarly, edamame is commonly consumed by sliding the beans out of each pod using your teeth, which typically requires your full attention.

Mindful eating is a powerful tool to manage your eating.

This technique is worth considering if conventional diets have not worked for you.

If you want to try mindful eating, you can find many resourceful books in stores and online. Alternatively, you can join the Healthline Mindful Eating Challenge to get started.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Mindful eating is a powerful tool to support managing your eating habits. It can help with weight loss, reducing binge eating, and making you feel better.

# data[].attributes.body
Inspiring and Uplifting story of coming back up from rock bottom.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Pursuing Happiness is a Choice; From the movie Pursuit of Happiness

# data[].attributes.headline
Midnight in Paris: What if we could visit our idols from the past?

# data[].attributes.subject
Midnight in Paris: What if we could visit our idols from the past?

# data[].attributes.headline
Importance of Creativity? Is burnout connected to a lack of fulfilment?

# data[].attributes.subject
Importance of Creativity? Is burnout connected to a lack of fulfilment?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Creativity; the use of imagination or original ideas to create something
You have a box of pens in front of you, think of five things you could do with them? (Absolutely anything that comes to mind, without judging or censoring yourself. Use your imagination, be silly, have fun with it)

There we go; you are creative!
Creative play
When you were a child can you remember creating finger and hand paintings, sticking and gluing, making marks with pencils and crayons? Typically, when we were children we were encouraged to be creative.

For children being creative provides opportunities for trying out new ideas, and new ways of thinking and problem-solving. Creative activities help acknowledge and celebrate children's uniqueness and diversity. It encourages them to express themselves openly and without judgment.

No matter how old we are creativity is a form of self-expression of feelings and experiences.

I believe that for a lot of us, as we grow older; censor our creativity as we begin to conform to social referencing, often as a means of fitting in and surviving.

Some of us become scared to freely express ourselves due to not wanting others to judge us, which then leads on to judging ourselves and making decisions based on what we think someone else would approve of. I suppose at this point, a lot of us quash our creativeness.
Everybody is Creative
"You're a Lot More Creative than You Think," says fine artist John Paul Caponigro. "The human being is a creative species." We're born creative. But we're not alike in our creativity. We use it in different ways and in different degrees.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAe9iraJkms The Benefits of Creativity
Freedom: There is no right or wrong way to be creative. When we create, it gives us the opportunity to engage with the world without judging ourselves. To return to the feeling of freedom we may have experienced during childhood. Where we did not have to know or be an expert. It gives us permission to take risks, try new things, and strip away inhibitions in a healthy way.

Self-awareness and Expression: Creativity is the route to authenticity. As we create we begin to access our thoughts, feelings and beliefs. When we take the time and energy to develop our own ideas, we learn to understand, trust and respect our inner self, in turn enabling us to better express ourselves. You may be surprised at the resources, thoughts and impulses that you discover there.

Faith and confidence in our instincts: When we create, we may start to value our work, even if it is not published, displayed or presented to the public. We can learn to trust our instincts and gain confidence from expressing them. This confidence carries over into decisions we make in other areas of life.

Stress Relief: Being creative is meditative. Taking the time to use our hands, minds, and energy doing something we enjoy and that makes us happy is of highest importance in life. Creativity is fun, and doing anything that brings joy reduces our stress levels and improves our quality of life.

Problem solving: There isn't a manual to being an artist, and there isn't a manual for being alive. Obstacles and challenges throughout life are inevitable. However, when we make creativity a habit, we continue to learn new, resourceful ways of solving problems in our artwork, and in life.

What do you gain from being creative? Share your own creative boons here.
How to Boost Your Creativity
As with any of the personal strengths, you can boost creativity simply by paying more attention to it and intending to incorporate more of it into your life.

Tap into your child-self and look for ways to be more playful, to make your tasks more fun.

Try changing a habitual pattern. Take a different route to work, for example, and notice what you see; urban meditation.

Spend time outside. Being in natural settings taps into all five senses, energizes the body, and, most importantly, stimulates the imagination.

Renew an old hobby. Dig out your old guitar or your scrap booking supplies.

Start a new hobby. Keep a journal. Record your dreams. Try your hand at writing stories or poems.

Buy some art supplies and play.

Expose yourself to more arts. Visit galleries and museums; go to concerts and the theatre.

Free-associate. Try this game: Open the dictionary to a random word and write down everything it makes you think of.

Write freely. Take 10 minutes to jot down anything and everything that comes to mind without judgment, a technique called 'free-writing' or 'free association'. Then go back over the notes and see which ideas are worth keeping.

Read biographies of musicians, dancers, artists, scientists, business leaders.

Listen to music; listening to music stimulates the part of our brain that controls motor actions, emotions, and creativity.

Exercise the eyes. Moving the eyes back and forth facilitates interaction between the right and left hemispheres of the brain, which may boost creative thinking

Don't expect perfection. Putting pressure on ourselves to produce something outstanding can actually make it harder to create anything at all. A lot of people sort of secretly feel, 'I'm not creative,' but everyone is creative to a certain degree.

Create a treasure chest. Collect a bunch of inspiring items (photos, quotations, etc.)

Take random photos.
In short...
Being creative gives us opportunities to try out new ideas, and new ways of thinking and problem-solving.

Creative activities help us acknowledge and celebrate our own uniqueness and diversity.

Creativity encourages self-expression, a way to create something from personal feelings and experiences.

Reconnect with your 'child like' state.

Give yourself permission to be creative.

Dare to fail. Creativity has no rules.

However you choose to nurture it, embark on a creative quest, be free, and be silly, without judgment. Decide to reap some of the positive benefits of creativity beginning today. You'll be healthier, happier and enriched.

Enjoy!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Creativity; the use of imagination or original ideas to create something You have a box of pens in front of you, think of five things you could do with them? (Absolutely anything that comes to mind, without judging or censoring yourself. Use your imagination, be silly, have fun with it) There we go; you are creative!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Burnout Prevention and Treatment - HelpGuide.org

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Feeling burned out, emotionally drained, or mentally exhausted? These tips can help you overcome burnout and regain your balance.

# data[].attributes.body
A very moving documentary that humanises the lives of high school cheerleaders from one of the most successful schools in America.

# data[].attributes.body
The ethical and health benefits of becoming a Vegan. Is this just a fad or a movement? And is it ok to push an agenda on others even if their ethical boundaries differ?

# data[].attributes.headline
Hatha Yoga and its benefits during injury or burnout

# data[].attributes.subject
Hatha Yoga and its benefits during injury or burnout

# data[].attributes.body
10 mins of yoga a day to go from stressed out and unconditioned to calm and toned.

# data[].attributes.body
The changing face of fashion, the status quo and the shift toward being eco-conscious. Is this just a trend that brands are jumping on as an opportunity to capture the market or is it a refreshing change?

# data[].attributes.body
The importance of personal identity and expression in how we present ourselves, plus the influx of information into our devices that shape how we view ourselves in relation to the cyber-reality we are becoming a part of. How fashion and clothing allow us to identify what groups we belong to?

# data[].attributes.body
Magick Tea Store: Online E-commerce store created by myself in partnership with my brother with the goal of focusing on self-care and positive thinking, as opposed to diet culture.

# data[].attributes.body
Skincare health and products inspired by plant based and nutrient dense ingredients.

# data[].attributes.body
A female Author who writes about relationships, friendship, love, romance and humour

# data[].attributes.body
Female author who writes about relationships, addiction in a moving and humorous way.

# data[].attributes.headline
Journal Entry 1: My Initial thoughts about the Assessment. 

# data[].attributes.subject
Journal Entry 1: My Initial thoughts about the Assessment. 

# data[].attributes.body
I feel excited about working on a creative project. I have spent a lot of years in a 9-5 job and have stolen time to work on creative projects on the side. Being able to use this time in my course to delve into a topic and create a promotional video where I can take an idea and/or feeling and create a promotional video is refreshing to me. I have some exposure to Premier Pro and feel lucky to be able to set time aside to focus solely on developing my skills and understanding how digital media helps with storytelling.

I have made a short film in the past, that was developed around my script, with the help of other creatives who were able to help with the technical requirements of filming, editing and sound.

I have however never created a video from beginning to end myself.

As far as an Idea, i thought I knew what I wanted to do, but I want to explore all my interests and unearth the topic I want to cover through this creative process.

# data[].attributes.body
Taking away the basic human right to have control of oneself is deeply upsetting and a source of great distress.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Human trafficking involves recruitment, harbouring or transporting people into a situation of exploitation through the use of violence, deception or coercion and forced to work against their will.

In other words, trafficking is a process of enslaving people, coercing them into a situation with no way out, and exploiting them.

People can be trafficked for many different forms of exploitation such as forced prostitution, forced labour, forced begging, forced criminality, domestic servitude, forced marriage, and forced organ removal.

"When I was 15, a woman who initially helped me sent me to England. On the first day in England, a man came, raped me and beat me - I was terrified. He forced me to have sex with lots of different men he brought to the house. It was horrible."
Grace, from Nigeria (name changed)

Contrary to a common misconception, people don't necessarily have to be transported across borders for trafficking to take place. In fact, transporting or moving the victim doesn't necessarily define trafficking.

When children are trafficked, no violence or coercion needs to be involved. Simply bringing them into exploitative conditions constitutes trafficking.

Trafficking for sexual exploitation gets much attention. However, the majority of people are trafficked into labour exploitation.

Many people who fall victim of trafficking want to escape poverty, improve their lives, and support their families. Often they get an offer of a well-paid job abroad or in another region. Often they borrow money from their traffickers in advance to pay for arranging the job, travel and accommodation.

When they arrive they find that the work they applied for does not exist, or the conditions are completely different. But it's too late, their documents are often taken away and they are forced to work until their debt is paid off.

Protect victims of trafficking

Join our campaign to protect and support the victims of trafficking in the UK.
Sign up today
Smuggling or trafficking?

People often confuse human trafficking and people smuggling. People smuggling is the illegal movement of people across international borders for a fee. On arrival, the smuggled person is free.

Human trafficking is different. The trafficker is moving a person for exploitation. There is no need to cross an international border. Human trafficking occurs at a national level, or even within one community.

Human trafficking in numbers

51% of identified victims of trafficking are women, 28% children and 21% men

72% people exploited in the sex industry are women

63% of identified traffickers were men and 37% women

43% of victims are trafficked domestically within national borders

(Estimates by The United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime (UNODC))

Learn more about slavery

Subscribe to our emails to hear latest news about modern slavery, our work against it around the world, and different ways you can take action. You can unsubscribe whenever you want.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
What is human trafficking? - Anti-Slavery International

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Human trafficking involves recruitment, harbouring or transporting people into a situation of exploitation through the use of violence, deception or coercion and forced to work against their will. In other words, trafficking is a process of enslaving people, coercing them into a situation with no way out, and exploiting them.

# data[].attributes.body
Binge watching Madame Secretary because of strong writing, engaging characters, high production value and strong lead female character.

# data[].attributes.headline
Kevin Hart's Documentary: Don't F*@k this up.

# data[].attributes.subject
Kevin Hart's Documentary: Don't F*@k this up.

# data[].attributes.body
Inspiring documentary about Kevin's journey from humble beginning to being a world class success who also wants to break barriers and become millionaire. Includes his take on introspection for personal growth; and inspiring anecdotes on the healing power of turning pain into humour.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Kevin Hart: Don't F**k This Up - Netflix Documentary Series - Trailer

# data[].attributes.body
Ideas on holistic wellness to cope with burnout and stress

# data[].attributes.body
Main creative outlet with visual ideas on selfcare, natural skincare, body positivity, creator tips

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Welcome back to Instagram. Sign in to check out what your friends, family & interests have been capturing & sharing around the world.

# data[].attributes.body
My online blog focused on self care and body positivity.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Health and Fashion Blogger | StreetCherri Blogger

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Street Cherri Blogger is a health and fashion blogger who loves to inspire selfcare through kindness with body positive fashion ideas and self love motivation. You'll also find the occassional behind-the-scenes creator tip here! Go to www.streetcherri.com to find out more..