In this episode, I talk about: The Upwork Research Institute’s global study revealing the impact of AI on workloads and productivity The disconnect between managerial expectations and employee realities How increased pressure is leading to employee overwhelm, burnout and quitting jobs Why organisations are using freelancers to bridge the full-time …

In this episode, I talk about: The evolution of email from a rapid communication tool to a source of daily anxiety and stress Why managing multiple email accounts leads to email overload The fallacy of never-ending storage and how you end up keeping emails you don’t want or need The impact of email on marketing and the rise in unwanted emails, spam…

In this episode, I talk about: Why smartphones stress you out, from constant notifications to the expectation that you’re always-on and always available, and how this impacts your mental health The challenge of maintaining data privacy when using smartphones to store or manage personal, health, and financial data How social interaction has decrease…

In this episode, I talk about: Guidance issued by the UK Department for Education encouraging schools to ban mobile phones during the school day The rise of smartphone ownership among children and its effects on screen time, ability to focus, mental and physical wellbeing, academic performance, social interaction, online safety and data privacy The…

In this episode, I talk about: New research revealing a link between social media use, nightmares, and poor mental health outcomes such as anxiety and depression The Social Media Nightmare-Related Scale and how the intensity of your social media use predicts the frequency of social media-related nightmares Theories about why we have dreams and nigh…

In this episode, I talk about: How digital devices are impacting your sleeping habits and could be depriving you of a proper night’s sleep The science of sleep and how you cycle between two phases – REM sleep and non-REM sleep – in 90-minute sleep cycles throughout the night Why the duration of your sleep matters just as much as the quality of your…

In this episode, I talk about: Why so many women are not taking their full annual leave entitlement each year Why women find themselves still working while on vacation The importance of taking regular holidays for your mental and physical health Barriers to taking regular time off, from low annual leave entitlement to busy work schedules and workpl…

In this episode, I talk about: Why balancing working and parenting is extra hard for mums during the summer holidays “Mum guilt” and the conflict between caring for your kids and performing well at work The importance of communication and transparency when juggling working from home with childcare How to create a structured schedule that keeps kids…

In this episode, I talk about: Why you can’t always rely on GPS to send you the right way The hilarious story of Noel Santillan, aka The Lost Tourist, and how GPS led him astray during a bucket list trip to Iceland How using GPS technology frequently could be shrinking your brain Place cells, grid cells, and the science behind your “inner GPS” or h…

In this episode, I talk about: The phenomenon of AI hallucinations – false or misleading information that is presented as fact How and why AI hallucinations occur with platforms such as ChatGPT 6 hilarious and scary examples of ChatGPT hallucinations, including: Lying about how many people survived the sinking of the Titanic Fabricating scientific …

In this episode, I talk about: Why AI voice assistants are almost always female and how this perpetuates harmful gender stereotypes The reason tech companies struggle to create accurate male AI voice assistants and the future of AI voice technology 5 hilarious times that Amazon’s AI assistant, Alexa, has misbehaved, including: Recommending a danger…

In this episode, I talk about: The rising trend of quitting social media The most common reasons for deciding to quit social media Why giving up social media is so hard The 7-step game plan to help you successfully quit social media, including: Understanding your personal “why” for quitting Defining what quitting means for you Deciding which social…

In this episode, I talk about: Why everyone should consider doing a social media detox The benefits of taking a break from social media for your mental and emotional wellbeing How long a social media detox should be and how often you should take breaks from social platforms 5 action steps to successfully take a break from social media, including Ch…

In this episode, I talk about: Why everyone should actively curate their social media experience 6 practical tips to curating your social media experience, including Being authentic in posted content Switching off validation mechanisms Consciously reacting to other people’s content ‘Marie Kondo-ing’ your connections and subscriptions Enabling perso…

In this episode, I talk about: Why choosing to quit or take a break from using social media is such a significant decision How your personal social media habits and online experience influence your decision The importance of time alone and away from social media How to tell when you need to take a break from social media The biological stress respo…

In this episode, I talk about: How social media is making you more connected but less sociable by replacing your real life relationships with lower quality connections Your innate biological desire for social connection and why loneliness feels so uncomfortable The surprising impact of loneliness on your mental and physical health, and why we’re in…

In this episode, I talk about: The dramatic difference between how you behave online and how you behave offline How social exchange theory might explain why you are more extroverted online than you are in real life, and how innate reward and survival mechanisms cause you to overshare information about yourself on social media Why the way you use so…

In this episode, I talk about: Why research into the link between social media and mental health is flawed, and the reason that experts can’t agree whether social media is good or bad for you The dangers of skim reading misleading news headlines about the impact of social media on mental health Whether social media companies and national government…

In this episode, I talk about: Why the answer to the question “how much time should I spend on social media?” is not a straightforward one Uncovering whether it’s yourself or others in your life who think that you are spending too much time online and what this means for your relationships Understanding the reasons you use social media and the dist…

In this episode, I talk about: The reason you’re still going on social media, despite turning off all notifications, taking a digital detox break, or deleting your accounts The four happiness hormones – dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, and endorphins – and how they work together to ensure the survival of the human race How social media mimics your re…

In this episode, I talk about: The methods social media platforms use to capture as much of your time and attention as possible Behavioural psychology and how we learn behaviours through classical conditioning because of interactions with our external environment How social media companies exploit behaviourism by using persuasive design features in…

In this episode, I talk about: The birth of social media and how social media platforms are exponentially evolving Why social media platforms are a popular startup idea, despite huge competition The reason social media platforms are all launching similar features The attention economy aka the economy of distraction aka surveillance capitalism aka h…

In this episode, I talk about: The role of social media in the rise and fall of KSI, a popular British YouTuber, rapper, boxer, and entrepreneur How influencers, brands, and media outlets make money through content creation as part of the attention economy Why clickbait headlines and controversial posts drive high views and engagement on social med…

In this episode, I talk about: Maximising opportunities to take a break from technology when you have time off work How remote working has increased your screen time and may be affecting your physical health more than you realise Our tendencies to ignore physical aches, pains, and strains until they become severe and to treat physical symptoms inst…

In this episode, I talk about: The difference 1 hour can make when it comes to practising digital wellbeing Why digital detox “escapes” may not be the solution to your digital device obsession The remarkable Indian village of Vadgaon, where a daily digital detox law has been introduced and enforced since August 2022 Whether Western countries could …

In this episode, I talk about: What mindfulness is and what it isn’t (clue: it’s not the same as meditation!) How mindfulness can build up your executive attention by promoting changes in the overall structure and function of your brain Scientific studies into the benefits of mindfulness for everyone from adults to children How the effects of mindf…

In this episode, I talk about: How digital distractions have turned even the most avid readers into casual readers What deep reading is and how it can boost your executive attention by training your brain to concentrate for long periods of time The paradox of requiring focus to engage in deep reading, in order to improve your overall capacity for f…

In this episode, I talk about: How constant multitasking and digital distractions have depleted your executive attention, making it difficult for you to concentrate for long periods of time The importance of working to actively build up your capacity for executive attention outside of specific focused tasks Why exposing yourself to nature can help …

In this episode, I talk about: The 3 types of human attention – alerting attention, orienting attention, and executive attention – and how they are impacted by your digital devices The role of executive attention in helping you to maintain focus, concentrate on tasks, and achieve your goals Why the mere presence of your smartphone is enough to dist…

In this episode, I talk about: What artificial intelligence (AI) is and the everyday products and services that it’s already a part of Why there has been a surge in conversations about AI and newer applications of the technology The reasons why you’re worried about AI, from losing control to losing your job The ethical issues associated with integr…

In this episode, I talk about: Why it’s impossible to ignore Valentine’s Day online and how love has been commercialised The reason you no longer know what you need from a partner and how social media has warped your expectations of what a relationship should look like The dangers of social stalking, judging prospects too quickly, and making assump…

In this episode, I talk about: Why work-life balance is important, even if you love your job How failing to take holidays and regular breaks could literally be costing you your life Why prevention is better than cure when it comes to burnout How technology enables remote working but blurs the line between your work and personal space, causing you t…

In this episode, I talk about: Why a healthy diet, exercise and sleep are essential for losing weight The importance of establishing a baseline, being clear about your weight loss goals, and tools to help you measure and track your progress Why fad diets are thriving in the digital age but they never lead to long-term weight loss Using apps to trac…

In this episode, I talk about: Why we seem to have the same New Year's resolutions year after year Why we go all in on our goals during January but run out of steam by February What willpower is, how it works, and why scientists believe that it's a limited resource How you might be unintentionally sabotaging your willpower by wasting your energy on…

In this episode, I talk about: What digital wellness is and why you need to prioritise it in your own life The concept of a balanced digital diet and why it's the most sustainable approach to digital wellbeing Why digital wellness is a personal, pro-active and ongoing practice, rather than a one-size-fits-all set of rules Why I started this podcast…