wellbeing
Latest
'PowerWash Simulator' players can now aid mental health research
Help researchers study the link between gaming and wellbeing as you blast muck away from a playground.
Android's latest feature reminds you to avoid distracted walking
Google is rolling out a 'Heads Up' feature on Android that will remind you to stop using your phone while you're walking.
'Animal Crossing: New Horizons' may actually be good for you
An Oxford study tapped into data from Nintendo and EA.
Facebook adds 'quiet mode' to help you manage screen time
Facebook's new feature lets you schedule "quiet" time away from the app — and it's notifications.
YouTube will stop displaying exact follower counts in September
In an attempt to take the pressure off of creators, YouTube is changing the way it displays how many followers an account has. Throughout September, the platform is rolling out abbreviated public subscriber counts. For example, if a creator has 1,234,567 subscribers, viewers will see that the count as 1.23M. YouTube announced the change in May, but it released more details this week. As you might imagine, users are not happy.
Facebook increases pay for contractors and content moderators
It's no secret that Facebook depends on contract laborers, who do everything from moderate content to help train AI. But the work those contractors do is often anxiety-inducing and under-paid. In response to an exposé by The Verge earlier this year, Facebook said it would improve moderator job conditions. Now, the company says it will increase contractors' pay and offer additional benefits to content moderators.
Google Calendar auto-rejects meetings when you're on vacation
No longer will you have to meekly reply to someone to say you can't get to a meeting they set up in Google Calendar when you're already on vacation. The scheduling app will now do the work for you, as Google continues to promote digital wellbeing.
This mesh WiFi router can track motion to protect your family
Back at CEATEC in October, I came across Origin Wireless and its clever algorithm that can turn any WiFi mesh network into a simple home security plus well-being monitoring system, and that's without using cameras or wearables -- just plug and play. At the time, I saw a working demo that left me impressed, but here at Computex, the company has moved its setup to a real-life environment (a lovely hotel room high up in Taipei), and I was finally able to try its fall detection. Better yet, it turns out that Origin Wireless has already been working with Qualcomm to integrate its technology into the ASUS Lyra router, meaning we're one step closer to seeing these features outside the lab.
Engadget UK asks: Is fitness tech improving your life?
August is almost upon us, and that means we don't have very long before the lighting of the Olympic flame in Rio, Brazil. Team GB has its work cut out: it's expected to bring home between 47 and 79 medals this summer, up from a forecast of between 40 to 70 at the 2012 London Games. While Mo Farah and co. attempt to meet those targets, we want to learn more about what motivates you to get active. Do you use fitness apps? Have you bought a wearable? Is Pokémon Go helping get you off the sofa and out onto the streets? Are these things improving your life for the better? We'd love to hear your thoughts. Answer these simple questions for the chance to WIN a £50 Amazon voucher. Entry closes at midnight on August 2nd.
Memory Shocker: keeping busy makes you too busy to remember things
The New York Times has picked up the scare-story baton again, this time citing two pieces of research that supposedly indicate we're spending too much time jacked into our electronic devices. The University of California, San Francisco, has come out with some data showing that the brain needs "downtime" to properly digest, learn, and memorize events. This is supported by the University of Michigan, which confirms that people remember much better after a walk through nature than after a walk through dense urban environments. Basically, crunching new data is preventing us from assimilating older, potentially more important, information. That's neatly (though somewhat dubiously) tied into electronics by reference to their ubiquitous presence and use in daily life. If you're constantly listening, watching, or checking something, you can't very well be packaging those precious memories of grandma's 85th birthday at the same time. Of course, the same could be said of a really good book you can't put down, but that doesn't make for a sexy headline, now does it?
