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Technology Articles and Episodes

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You Are What You Eat

You Are What You Eat

It’s that time of year. For a majority of my adult life, late December brings on loads of ambition. This will be the year. I’m gonna lose weight, get in better shape, read some more books, and in general – dominate life. We all feel it, right? Gym membership deals are flooding our mailbox while visions of what could be possible flood our imaginations. Maybe this is the year we will get out of debt. What if I actually got my act together on all of the things I have neglected to this point? We all love the opportunity to start over. This is the great part of living in a free society – we get to choose our direction. If we want to be successful, generally with the right tools and support, we can do so. If we want to be a drain on society, there is an option to do that as well! This is the time of year where making good choices seems not only possible, but likely. We are filled with a sense of hope and optimism that next year could be better than the last.

Is Your Teenager Being Raised by Robots?

Is Your Teenager Being Raised by Robots?

Recently I heard an interview on the radio with a former DJ from a once influential radio station in our town. This radio station played “alternative” music over the airwaves of our city back when the grunge movement really took hold in the early 90’s. I remember listening to this station at night when the signal was strong enough to make it to our little town, and thought I was part of something really cool. This former DJ was reflecting upon the role he played at this station. He would host a Sunday night show featuring new music and up-and-coming bands that no one had ever heard of within this alternative genre. Back then, he fancied himself as a gatekeeper of sorts – someone highly immersed in the movement and culture of the music scene whose job it was to guide the masses into new worlds of music. For him, all music wasn’t created equally – and most people who didn’t know much about music had to be led to what was good.

Reclaiming Human Interaction

Reclaiming Human Interaction

I am feeling old fashioned lately. As a relative late-comer to the social media scene, I find myself more as a consumer of these platforms (i.e. just reading and observing) than an actual participant. I like to post overly cute pictures of my kids or post some off-kilter observations of the world around me, but as for using social media as a place for serious discussion, I don’t know how to do it. I’ve had some fun discussions with those just slightly younger than me (including a certain female member of our staff here at Teen Lifeline) about the merits, or lack thereof, surrounding how we use social media. I didn’t grow up with it but more engaged with it well into my mid to late 20’s – well past the age of indoctrination on such things.