My Brain Has Too Many Tabs Open: How to Untangle Our Relationship with Tech

Description

We use technology to connect, work, learn, get fit, shop and even date. But who is really in control: you, the platform or your device? This book gives the reader back their power. My Brain Has Too Many Tabs Open explores how bad digital habits and experiences are damaging lives, and what we can do about it. Tanya Goodin is a digital detox campaigner and agony aunt sounding the alarm on digital lifestyle issues we wrestle with daily. Through recollections of client consultations and expert analysis, Goodin breaks down what is happening and why, and tells us how we can fix it. Whether you are dealing with a partner who is mindlessly scrolling rather than listening to you (phubbing), a parent who floods social media with photographs of their children without consent (sharenting), or are one of the 66% who suffer from compulsive phone use (nomophobia), you will learn how to recognise and label dependent behaviours - both of yourself and others - and find actionable answers in this book. Complete with diagnostic guides to tell-tale signs and a manifesto for improved digital citizenship, the book investigates life, love and work versus tech. With each of the 24 scenarios included, Goodin offers the conversation-starting vocabulary we so desperately need to get to grips with our brave new digital world, and exist in it happily. Explore unforgettable facts, familiar lived experiences and carefully crafted solutions with this habit-improving bible. Among the scenarios included are: Doomscrolling: endlessly consuming doom-and-gloom news, a habit perpetuated by attention-seeking algorithms that triggers anxiety and depression Comparison Culture: 52% of teens feel less confident because of feeling inadequate when comparing their social media profiles with other people's Vampire Shoppers: dead-of-night, sleepless shoppers who spend a third more than daytime shoppers, and range from nocturnal gamers to exhausted parents Digital Legacies: before the end of the century there could be 4.9 billion deceased internet users, yet only 7% of us want our online profiles maintained after death Cybercondria: Dr Google is causing a wave of misdiagnoses from anxious searchers, with 25% of British women buying false miracle cures as a next step Clicktivism: also known as slacktivism, is virtue signalling through performative alignment with online causes, but can it ever amount to meaningful change?

Tanya Goodin is an author and expert commentator on digital detox, children using screens, digital addiction, tech dependency and work:life balance. She has appeared on BBC Breakfast, Sky News, CCTV (China State TV), ITN London News, BBC R4 Today' Programme, BBC Woman's Hour, the ITV National News, and the BBC World Service. Her articles can be found in The Guardian, London Evening Standard, Marie Claire, The Daily Mail and The Sun. Tanya runs digital detox retreats for adults and teenagers (@timetologgoff), and is a consultant for schools, couples, parents and companies of all sizes. Her podcast It's Complicated' examines our relationship with our smart phones and includes inspiring guests such as Nikita Gill, Cal Newport, Hinge CEO Justin McLeod and Love Islander Dr Alex George. Follow Tanya on Twitter and Instagram @tanyagoodin, and visit her website https://www.tanyagoodin.com/.