I Was … Batman
Do you ever stop to think about the many roles we play in our personal and professional lives? You probably shift in and out of your different personas without much consideration: Friend, teacher, sibling, mother, employee, boss, spouse. They’re all very different characters, of sorts, but you can be all of them. It’s just a […]
Occupy Nickelback
As I’m sure you fine thinkers and bloggers have noticed, we here at Plugged In are always keeping our ears to the ground and our moistened fingers up in the air to keep track of societal shifts, changing winds and the impact that different forms of media can have on all of the above. Well, […]
Screeching with a Mouthful of Popcorn
Well, it’s Halloween time again. Jack-o-lanterns are in the windows, fake cobwebs are strung over the doorframes and Paranormal Activity 3 is raking in big bucks at the Cineplex. So it only makes sense, I guess, to ask that age-old question: Why do people love to be frightened out of their wits by horror movies? […]
A Heady Facebook Question
A new study by the University College of London found a link between the size of your brain and the number of friends you have on Facebook. That’s right, more friends, bigger brains. Now, I hesitated sharing this news because: 1. I always wonder just how realistic these kinds of studies can be. 2. If […]
From Newborn to Nintendo
Do you worry about the wicked impact of video games on the youth of today? Do you fear that button-mashing play is growing in popularity and will soon lead your kids to glaze-eyed delinquency? Well, I’ve got some news for you … (Cue the scary ominous music) … IT’S ONLY GETTING WORSE!! Yup. Even though […]
Game Over, Man
Video games are excellent teachers, the experts say. But a new study suggests that these digital diversions may teach some unintended lessons. A gaggle of researchers who conducted a study at Nottingham Trent University and Stockholm University came up with a new video game term: game transfer phenomena (GTP). It seems that after testing a […]
Gamers Save the World … Maybe
Hey, video game haters out there, listen up. You probably thought that 30-year-old “kid” living in your neighbor’s basement playing non-stop video games was a slouch, right? For that matter you might even be worried that someone in your own family may be succumbing to that button-mashing siren’s call. Well, I’ve got some news for […]
Livin’ la Vida Facebook
I’ve got to admit, I really love the recent Toyota Venza commercial. It focuses on a young girl who’s worrying about her parent’s lack of social connection. You’ve probably seen it, but if not check it out. It’s a really funny shot across the bow of the social network generation that thinks “living” is being […]
Tarted-Up Toddlers
There is something about reality shows that just rubs me the wrong way. I can’t help it, I simply find most of them to be pretty obnoxious—repeatedly grinding our virtual noses in their fame-focused subject’s generally silly choices. Case in point: TLC’s Toddlers and Tiaras. Remember when people actually thought TLC stood for “The Learning […]
The Frosh Mindset
Well, it’s time for another incoming class of ex-high schoolers to step up to higher learning. And this year those freshmen were born way back in that ancient year of ye old 1993. Of course, that may mean zippidee to you, but Beloit College in Beloit, Wisc., just published its Mindset List of 2015, which […]