The Negatives of Too Much Texting

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…And How to Hone Your Interpersonal Skills!

By Victor Moreau

The average Millennial exchanges an average of 67 text messages per day, according to Business Insider. About 97% of Americans use their texting app at least once a day, making it the most widely-used feature on a smartphone. People like to text, but is there a negative to all of that time spent typing in lieu of face-to-face or even voice-to-voice communication?

Some people think so.

One person, in particular, MIT psychologist Sherry Turkle, is a leading researcher looking into the impact of texting. Turkle believes that too much texting can have a negative impact on the interpersonal development of kids. An example she gives compares an apology given between two people face-to-face and a text apology.

In the example, she describes all of the emotion, tension, and subtleties involved in a face-to-face apology:

#CrowdSource: What Was the First Tech Gift You Remember Receiving?

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We could have gone with “what your first tech gift says about you,” but it’s almost Christmas already.

There comes a time in a kid’s life when the wishlist evolves from past dolls and dump trucks to games and gadgets.

It’s a refinement of interest, and taste. Rather than ask Santa for presents that speak when you spin the wheel/squeeze the paw/push the button, we request gifts of a higher order. Some are electronic; others, battery-powered.

All, though, signal our graduation from toys we’re still likely to chew on at some juncture, to those that require dexterity and thought.

I asked social media connections to share with Tech Life the first tech gift they remember unwrapping for the holidays. The answers spanned generations and complexities. Here’s what they came up with.

Guest Post: Kelly, of Just Typikel, on Writing Online

Awash with stories as a widow and mom to young children, one writer found a path to share them

How many people do you know who’ve won two donkeys on a TV game show?

That’s just one of Kelly McKenzie’s adventures. She writes the blog Just Typikel. Get it? Her posts brim with the adventures of a mom to two grown children, and daughter to a 91-year-old spark plug of a woman.

Today, Kelly graces us with her presence here at Tech Life.

Kelly’s here to tell us how technology impacted her life. In this case, it was an online writing course that set her on a path of spinning tales of a life in an Asian antique shop with her mom.

3 Innovative Ways to Win Swag on Blogs

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How to maximize your chances when it comes to reaping the blog sweepstakes rewards

By Eli Pacheco

I watch them fly by on my Twitter feed … giveaways and sweepstakes on blogs.

Some are on blogs I trust. Others, just from bloggers I follow. I’ve won before – neat glass jars from Infinity Jars on The Mom of the Year blog. I’ve won a couple of excellent books, too, and once, a fresh pair of sunglasses that would never fit in my budget.

Often, bloggers win on other blogs. Hosts can ask for anything from a simple comment to a series of likes and follows through a third-party service, such as Raffle Copter.

“I won a littleBits Gizmos & Gadgets kit from More than Thursdays,” said Roxanne Pixel, who blogs on Unintentionally Brilliant. “I’ve been keeping it hidden, and am using it as a Christmas gift for my son. I know he’s going to love it.”

How to Make Memes (& Why People Love Them)

The right photo + the right words = viral appeal, copycats and more.

By Meaghan Flanigan

What’s the first word that comes to mind when you see a meme?

Hilarious? Insightful? Rude? Accurate? Dumb?

They’re all that – and they’re everywhere, from Twitter and Instagram to Facebook and Pinterest. How did a thing as simple as a photo and caption that makes a joke or offers an insight become some popular?

Richard Dawkins, in his 1976 book The Selfish Gene, first coined the word meme. It described how ideas spread through culture. It once took days, weeks, or years for ideas to disseminate; now they hit the Internet, and spread like wildfire.

Guest Post: Tiffany of Sounds Like Life to Me, on Technology

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We’re proud to present our first guest post on Tech Life.

Tiffany writes the blog Sounds Like Life to Me. She’s a mom, a wife, and a writer. We asked her to tell us how technology has changed her life. Many of us will be able to identify with so much of what Tiffany says about the struggle between the benefits and pitfalls of a technologically advancing society.

Be sure to check out Tiffany’s blog after you read her post here.

How Tech Makes it Easier to Get Away for a Getaway

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Save time, save money, save sanity for vacation with a little help from technology

By Jacquelyn Staggs

Work hard, play hard.

Or so they say.

Imagine taking a relaxing vacation, lying in a swaying hammock on a sandy beach in the sun, sipping out of a coconut…..or, hiking through the dense jungle chasing waterfalls and watching monkeys swing from branch to branch…..whichever’s more your passion.

#AtoZChallenge: N is for Narcissistic Tendencies

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Why selfies are literally killing us.

By Brittany Smith

Selfie sticks, Snap Chat, photo filters, Instagram, Pic Stitch collages, and the constant pressure to update our social media profiles is fueling the rise of the selfie, and with it a long list of mishaps, injuries and photos gone very, very wrong.

Just last month a man in Washington State was taking a selfie with a gun and accidentally shot himself. A few weeks after that incident, a man in Hong Kong plunged to his death while attempting to take a photo from a popular overlook.

Although 2016 is still in the first quarter, it’s tough to tell if these are isolated incidents or a rising trend, but the folks over at Priceonomics have found that since 2014, 49 people have died while attempting to take selfies. (Coincidentally, but not really, 75 percent of them happened to be male.)

The majority of selfie fatalities come from falling from heights, followed closely by drowning and trains. Two people have also died from attempting to take a grenade selfie. That’s right, a hand grenade, folks.

#AtoZChallenge: M is for Me Time (is it Possible, in this Tech-Heavy World?)

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Technology renders us hyper-busy by connecting us to everything, all the time. Can tech also give us peace?

 By Eli Pacheco

“I’m bored,” my 11-year-old said just this morning.

Bored? We grownups remember what that feels like. Don’t we? Let me put it this way: My Todoist app blows up my phone still, even though I deleted the app. How’s that possible? I have enough to juggle without my virtual to-do list barking up my tree every day.

Technology makes it possible to always be in pocket, and that’s its advantage.Technology makes it possible to always be in pocket, and that’s its disadvantage.

Hell, the organizational app Evernote’s proven track record speaks for itself. Yet, I struggle to organize the stuff I’ve saved to Evernote. User error.

#AtoZChallenge: L is for Language Acquisition Apps

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Learning a language? These apps can help you crush the bilingual game

By Brittany Smith

According to the BBC, there is an estimated 6,500+ spoken languages in the world today. The most widely spoken is Mandarin Chinese, with English and Spanish close behind.

Also, 75 percent of the world’s population doesn’t speak English, and a recent study by the Instituto Cervantes found that the U.S. is the world’s second largest Spanish speaking country. More people speak Spanish in the U.S. than Spain.

Which not only makes learning another language bad-ass for helping you pick up foreign significant others, it can also help boost brainpower and memory and give you better job prospects.

So why not get started today? We’ve compiled a list of some of the best apps to help you go from floundering to fluent in no time.