THINKING
Tanya writes regularly on tech ethics, digital wellbeing, digital detox, Big Tech, screen-life balance, cybersafety, AI, persuasive tech, the attention economy and other topical issues related to the digital world.
Screen time this summer: curation before clocks
Managing screen time for kids calls for a range of parental tools. One of those tools is curation — research on what you want your kids to be doing online.
The other pandemic: cybercrime
We’re spending more time online and so are cybercriminals, with scams from Twittergeddon to Zoom bombs. Here’s how to stay safe.
Digital wellbeing: limiting screens after lockdown
We’ve all been guilty of sometimes excessive tech use during lockdown. As lockdown lifts, here are some ways to limit screens and improve digital wellbeing.
Online classrooms – helping or harming children’s learning?
Schools have now moved their teaching entirely online during the global pandemic. How will online classrooms help or harm children’s learning?
2019 Internet Trends Report Reveals Our Concerns About Digital Overload
Mary Meeker’s Internet Trends Report for 2019 paints a picture of users struggling with digital overload and trying to cut down on personal smartphone use.
Will the #OnlineHarms whitepaper bring the sheriff to the digital Wild West?
The DCMS Online Harms White Paper is just the first step in imposing basic levels of child safety and protection in the Wild West that is the digital world.
Your smartphone addiction is making your children unhappy
I asked a group of 11 year olds how their parents’ smartphone habits made them feel, and what they would like to say to them about it. This is what they said.
When’s the right age to get a smartphone?
It’s a hotly debated topic and the question I get asked the most when I talk to parents and children in schools on internet safety “When’s the right age to get a smartphone?”
Is It Time To Rethink Smartphones in Schools?
Defining and agreeing a policy for smartphones in schools can be tricky for staff, parents and students alike. Here are some suggestions for what to include.
BOOKS
Tanya is the author of three books on our complicated relationship with technology:
‘My Brain Has Too Many Tabs Open’, ‘Off.’ and ‘Stop Staring at Screens’ are all out now.

My Brain Has Too Many Tabs Open
“Highly readable…attainable and realistic ways to reduce technology use and alleviate the burdens it can place on us as individuals and on our relationships.”


OFF: Your Digital Detox for a Better Life
"She presents simple ideas alongside practical suggestions for how to implement them - leaving you inspired and motivated by the end."


Stop Staring at Screens!
"Perhaps the best compliment I can pay this is that as soon as I started reading this, my 13-year-old son started looking over my shoulder, and in short order said, "I want to read this as soon as you're done. And I want to do this."
