Dr. Jim Taylor – Mobility Digest

Is Coding Camp a Good Thing? Answer: Not to Me

January 20, 2016July 7, 2015 by Dr. Jim Taylor

One of the booming trends in the ‘youth-achievement-industrial complex’ is computer coding camps (and after-school coding programs). Here is an article in which I was interviewed that discusses this new, and to me troubling, development. I think this trend is driven by two unhealthy forces. First, economic uncertainty that has created immense anxiety in parents … Read more

Is Google Killing Wonder?

January 20, 2016June 16, 2015 by Dr. Jim Taylor

What makes wonder such a powerful force? It is the wellspring from which engaged and expansive thinking emerges. Curiosity, an essential source of intellectual inquiry, is piqued. Your mental gears start turning and your synapses begin firing. You feel excitement and an urge to know more. Curiosity propels you to seek out an answer.

The Digital World is Full of Possibility and Worry

October 6, 2014 by Dr. Jim Taylor

I come to the discussion of the impact of technology on our lives from two perspectives. I hold a Ph.D. in psychology, am the author of Raising Generation Tech: Prepare Your Children for Media-Fueled World, blog about the psychology of technology, and speak regularly to parents, educators, and young people about the impact of technology … Read more

Tech Savvy Doesn’t Mean Tech Skilled

October 7, 2025September 24, 2014 by Dr. Jim Taylor

Parents getting their children involved in technology as early as possible has become a societal imperative and a source of great pressure on parents these days. The belief is that if children don’t get on the technology train at an early age, they will be left behind and be doomed to a life of Luddite … Read more

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

October 7, 2025June 5, 2014 by Dr. Jim Taylor

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

What is the Biggest Danger of Technology?

May 21, 2014 by Dr. Jim Taylor

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

Can Technology Save Itself from Itself?

January 20, 2016April 14, 2014 by Dr. Jim Taylor

With the 20th anniversary of the birth of Internet just passed, I thought it a good time to step back and reflect on the role of technology in our present lives and the role it may play in the future. There is no doubt that the technological developments of the past two decades made possible … Read more

Will There be a Backlash Against Technology?

April 8, 2016September 9, 2013 by Dr. Jim Taylor

In a past post, I described my belief in the Law of Unintended Consequences, which suggests that we can’t predict how innovations will impact us individually or collectively. This law couldn’t be more relevant than in the influence of the Internet, and all of the technological advances that followed, on our lives.

Psychology of Technology: Is Technology Raising a Generation of Bad Decision Makers?

November 19, 2013January 7, 2013 by Dr. Jim Taylor

Decision making is another aspect of children’s thinking that seems to be suffering as a result of the latest technology. This poor decision making is illustrated by events over the last few years involving young people making egregiously bad decisions that involve technology (not to mention the frequent examples occurring in the adult world!). For example, teenagers whose “sexting” to a friend is released in cyberspace, embarrassing or illegal behavior that’s recorded on mobile phones and uploaded onto the Web, and the tragic consequences of cyberbullying.

Mama, Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to be…Multitaskers

December 19, 2012December 18, 2012 by Dr. Jim Taylor

Like many digital natives, your children are probably on their way to becoming lifelong multitaskers (or so you think). As the research indicates, children these days spend about seven-and-a-half hours a day interacting with technology unrelated to school and when multitasking is counted, that number jumps to an astonishing ten-and-three-quarter hours. Your children may be … Read more

Is Your Family’s Relationship with Technology Healthy?

October 7, 2025September 17, 2012 by Dr. Jim Taylor

How involved in technology your children are is only half of the equation in its impact on them. The other half, of course, is the degree to which you are savvy in both your understanding and use of technology. The research indicating that children spend, on average, more than 7.5 hours a day in front … Read more