ATTENTION HIJACKED

In a world of ubiquitous screens, how can teens find the right balance?

Marcus, a mindfulness practitioner and teacher, offers a variety of suggestions for investigating one’s relationship with technology, with the goal of finding a healthy balance. She draws her readers in with an extensive consideration of ways technology helps them make connections, locate affinity groups and paths to create social change, acquire information and education, express themselves creatively, utilize organizational tools, and seek entertainment. However, she states, many elements of technology are designed to be addictive. Marcus offers pros and cons for a variety of common complaints about teens and screens, including that they interfere with mental and physical health and, some claim, damage cognitive abilities (an accusation she puts into nuanced context). With this groundwork laid, she introduces the practice of mindfulness. The second half of this self-help title offers a wide variety of ways to use mindfulness to examine one’s own tech habits, notice and recover from situations in which technology may have hijacked one’s attention, and identify and work toward achieving one’s goals. The conversational narrative is full of specific examples, lists of activities, writing prompts, and QR codes for audio files of guided mindfulness techniques. From the very beginning, the author couches her advice as suggestive rather than prescriptive and chronicles her own steps and missteps.

A valuable handbook for developing a healthy relationship with technology.