Resources on ethical technology and tech life balance
More and more serious professionals start talking about the impact technology has on us. Some of them are listed below. It's important to spread the knowledge as much as we can. Are you with us?
Top 60 experts in tech life balance
Mary Aiken, Ireland Site Twitter LinkedIn
Adam Alter, USA Site Twitter LinkedIn
Lawrence Ampofo, UK Site Twitter LinkedIn
Linda Blair, UK Site Twitter
Frances Booth, UK Site Twitter LinkedIn
Danah Boyd, USA Site Twitter LinkedIn
Jocelyn Brewer, Australia Site Twitter LinkedIn
Dean Burnett, UK Site Twitter LinkedIn
Rafael Calvo, Australia Site Twitter LinkedIn
Nicholas Carr, USA Site Twitter
Marta Cecchinato, UK Site Twitter LinkedIn
Matthew Crawford, USA Site
Anastasia Dedyukhina, UK Site Twitter LinkedIn
Mark Ellis, UK Site Twitter LinkedIn
Robert Epstein, USA Site Twitter LinkedIn
Nir Eyal, USA Site Twitter LinkedIn
Kwame Ferreira, UK Site Twitter LinkedIn
Chris Flack, Ireland Site Twitter LinkedIn
BJ Fogg, USA Site Twitter LinkedIn
Tanya Goodin, UK Site Twitter LinkedIn
T. David Gordon, USA Site LinkedIn
David Greenfield, USA Site Twitter LinkedIn
Robin Hanson, USA Site Twitter LinkedIn
Tristan Harris, USA Site Twitter LinkedIn
Devorah Heitner, USA Site Twitter LinkedIn
Martin Hilbert, USA Site Twitter LinkedIn
Julia Hobsbawm, UK Site Twitter LinkedIn
Carl Honoré, UK Site Twitter LinkedIn
Liat Hughes Joshi, UK Site Twitter LinkedIn
Ryota Kanai, Japan Site Twitter LinkedIn
Andrew Keen, USA Site Twitter LinkedIn
Jaron Lanier, USA Site Twitter
Gerd Leonhard, Switzerland Site Twitter LinkedIn
Daniel Levitin, Canada, USA Site Twitter LinkedIn
David Levy, USA Site LinkedIn
Andrew McAfee, USA Site Twitter LinkedIn
Gerald Moore, UK Site
Tim Moorey, UK Site Twitter LinkedIn
Evgeny Morozov, USA Site Twitter LinkedIn
Cal Newport, USA Site
Cathy O'Neil, USA Site Twitter
Kate O'Neill, USA Site Twitter LinkedIn
Pamela Pavliscak, USA Site Twitter LinkedIn
David Ryan Polgar, USA Site Twitter LinkedIn
Douglas Rushkoff, USA Site Twitter LinkedIn
Alexandra Samuel, Canada Site Twitter LinkedIn
Gary Small, USA Site Twitter LinkedIn
Robert Elliott Smith, UK Site Twitter LinkedIn
Daniel Susskind, UK Site Twitter LinkedIn
Richard Susskind, UK Site Twitter LinkedIn
Latanya Sweeney, USA Site Twitter LinkedIn
Nassim Taleb, USA Site Twitter
Sue Thomas, UK Site Twitter LinkedIn
Gabija Toleikyte, UK Twitter LinkedIn
Sherry Turkle, USA Site Twitter LinkedIn
Neil Turner, UK Site Twitter LinkedIn
Tim Wu, USA Site Twitter
Manoush Zomorodi, USA Site Twitter LinkedIn
NB: This is a constantly updated list organized in an alphabetical order. If you know somebody authoritative in the area of tech life balance and ethical tech and think they should be mentioned here, please submit your proposal using the form below. Because ethical tech and digital detox is rapidly becoming a fashionable subject, and there is very mixed information about it, we will only publish links to established organizations and people with a strong reputation. If you are just starting and are generally inspired by the idea, please wait a little, and then we'll be happy to add you to the list
Blogs & podcasts (free)
- Lawrence Ampofo, author of Digital Mindfulness podcast - weekly inspirational conversations on tech and people with experts
- Note To Self - weekly podcast of New York Public Radio by Manoush Zomorodi about preserving humanity in a digital age
- Nir Eyal - specialist on building addictive products, author of Hooked (see in books). Recently started blogging about how to "unhook" your brain from technology
- Tristan Harris - founder of Time Well Spent movement, blogs about ethics for designers. Also has an awesome TED talk
Books worth reading
- Mary Aiken The Cyber Effect: A Pioneering Cyberpsychologist Explains How Human Behaviour Changes Online
- Adam Alter Irresistible: Why We Can’t Stop Checking Scrolling Clicking and Watching
- Danah Boyd It's Complicated: The Social Lives of Networked Teens
- Nicholas Carr The Glass Cage: Who Needs Humans Anyway
- Nicholas Carr The Shallows: How the Internet is Changing the Way We Think, Read and Remember
- Matthew Crawford The World Beyond Your Head: How to Flourish in an Age of Distraction
- Anastasia Dedyukhina: Homo Distractus. Fight for your choices and identity in the digital age
- Nir Eyal Hooked: how to build habit-forming products (this book actually encourages to build habit-forming products, but is very useful to understand how your devices "hook" your brain)
- Julia Hobsbawm Fully connected: surviving and thriving in an age of overload
- Andrew Keen The Internet is Not the Answer
- Gerd Leonhard Technology vs. Humanity: The coming clash between man and machine.
- David Levy Mindful Tech: How to Bring Balance to Our Digital Lives
- Evgeny Morozov To save everything, click here.
- Cal Newport Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World
- Cathy O'Neil Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy
- Richard and Daniel Susskind The Future of the Professions: How Technology Will Transform the Work of Human Experts
- Sue Thomas Nature and Wellbeing in the Digital Age
- Sue Thomas Technobiophilia: Nature and Cyberspace
- Sherry Turkle Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other
- Sherry Turkle Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in a Digital Age
- Tim Wu The Attention Merchants: How Our Time and Attention are Gathered and Sold
Research and researchers
Dr David Greenfield - specialist on internet addiction, head of The Center for Internet and Technology Addiction, University of Connecticut
American Pediatric Association - recommendations on devices and children (also contains links to research on how tech affects kids of different age)
Dr Ryota Kanai (University of Sussex) - neuroscientist who did some studies how tech multitasking changes our brain
Places to digitally detox
Seymour Plus - Paris, France (UPD - closed in July 2017, still has interesting videos on the website). The one and only physical technology-free zone in the centre of Paris offers five rooms for quiet contemplation and creativity. Donation-based.
Speakers and companies operating in tech life balance space
Ireland: Chris Flack, founder of Unplug.ie - focuses on mindfulness to help companies and individuals find a tech life balance
US: David Ryan Polgar aka "Tech ethicist". Specialist on cyber ethics, founder of Digital Citizenship Summit
UK: Anastasia Dedyukhina, founder of Consciously Digital, TEDx speaker, author of "Homo Distractus"
UK: Tanya Goodin, founder of Time to Log Off, digital entrepreneur, author of "Off" book
Products and useful resources to manage tech
Freedom - blocking app for your phone that allows you to manage your digital distractions. Paid.
Rescuetime - browser extension that counts how much time you spend on certain websites. Has a free version
Stayfocusd - a simple browser extension that blocks all or chosen websites. Free
The Light Phone - a phone that only allows calls and messages, "designed to be used as little as possible"
Newsfeed Eradicator - free Chrome extension that blocks your Facebook newsfeed, while still allowing you to message friends. Great way to save time!
Info on addictive design
Nir Eyal's blog
BJ Fogg's behavioural model/Persuasive technology lab at Stanford
Tristan Harris's blog (link above)
Friends of Time Well Spent in Facebook group
Dr David Greenfield - specialist on internet addiction, head of The Center for Internet and Technology Addiction, University of Connecticut
American Pediatric Association - recommendations on devices and children (also contains links to research on how tech affects kids of different age)
Dr Ryota Kanai (University of Sussex) - neuroscientist who did some studies how tech multitasking changes our brain
Places to digitally detox
Seymour Plus - Paris, France (UPD - closed in July 2017, still has interesting videos on the website). The one and only physical technology-free zone in the centre of Paris offers five rooms for quiet contemplation and creativity. Donation-based.
Speakers and companies operating in tech life balance space
Ireland: Chris Flack, founder of Unplug.ie - focuses on mindfulness to help companies and individuals find a tech life balance
US: David Ryan Polgar aka "Tech ethicist". Specialist on cyber ethics, founder of Digital Citizenship Summit
UK: Anastasia Dedyukhina, founder of Consciously Digital, TEDx speaker, author of "Homo Distractus"
UK: Tanya Goodin, founder of Time to Log Off, digital entrepreneur, author of "Off" book
Products and useful resources to manage tech
Freedom - blocking app for your phone that allows you to manage your digital distractions. Paid.
Rescuetime - browser extension that counts how much time you spend on certain websites. Has a free version
Stayfocusd - a simple browser extension that blocks all or chosen websites. Free
The Light Phone - a phone that only allows calls and messages, "designed to be used as little as possible"
Newsfeed Eradicator - free Chrome extension that blocks your Facebook newsfeed, while still allowing you to message friends. Great way to save time!
Info on addictive design
Nir Eyal's blog
BJ Fogg's behavioural model/Persuasive technology lab at Stanford
Tristan Harris's blog (link above)
Friends of Time Well Spent in Facebook group