Misfit Minute: The gamification of society; smartphone bans and youth suicide
This week's catch-up on the latest research in child development
To ease the burden of waiting for the latest Misfit, I will share a few thought-provoking reads covering the world of child development.
This week:
Why everything is becoming a game?
“Today, people increasingly live inside their phones, bossed around by notifications, diligently collecting badges and filling progress bars, even though it doesn’t make them happy” - Gurwinder
Gurwinder looks at the gamification of different aspects of our lives, exploring the adoption of B.F Skinners theory of behaviourism by social media companies, businesses, and smartphone applications.
Is there enough evidence to ban smartphones in schools? by
“They just say, well of course, phones are a distraction and shouldn’t be in lessons. No evidence needed. Just common sense!” - Daisy Christodoulou
Daisy weighs up the conflicting arguments for and against banning smartphones in schools, looking at how they can benefit learning but also be a serious distraction.
Suicide rates are now higher among young adults than the middle-aged. by
“Most obviously, suicide prevention efforts need to focus more on younger men than they do now. The increasingly high rates of depression and self-harm among teen girls and young women also demand our attention.” - Jean M. Twenge
Jean analyses recent research demonstrating a shift in suicide trends and the need to focus prevention measures on younger demographics to raise awareness of contributing factors.
In case you missed last week’s article on gaming:
Don't hate the player, hate the gaming industry
The gaming industry is one of the main players when it comes to the dopamine industrial complex, where entire research and development budgets are focused on how to hoover up as much of our attention as p…