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.
Europe is Coming For Big Tech
The EU Digital Markets Act takes aim at the walled gardens of BIg Tech to make them more open. ‘Gatekeepers’ will be subject to tough rules.
Digital Youth Index Reveals UK Online Experiences
The UK’s annual Digital Youth Index reveals young internet users’ perceptions of their internet safety and digital wellbeing.
The Biggest Problem With DeepFakes isn’t The DeepFakes
The threat from deepfakes may not be how good they are, but that their existence undermines trust in news, playing into the hands of agents of misinformation.
Understanding Kids in the Metaverse
The merging of physical and digital for kids in the Metaverse is fraught with potential risks. The digital world was not designed for children.
Algorithms and A Levels
The use of an algorithm to award A Level grades in the UK highlighted problems of algorithmic accountability, transparency and ethics.
TikTok’s deadly challenges
Children are taking part in TikTok’s viral challenges; encouraging them to perform harmful, criminal, and sometimes deadly acts.
The battery life of your phone could affect your loan application
Is how often you drain your phone battery a good indicator of your credit worthiness? Lack of algorithmic transparency in financial services means we may not know.
Teens turning to TikTok and Instagram for news
More teens than ever get their news from social media platform like TikTok and Instagram, rather than from TV or print according to Ofcom.
Technology is changing the way young girls see themselves
Sophisticated AR-based image editing tools are changing how young girls and women view standards of beauty, harming their mental health.
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."