I am always on the lookout for media technologies that are used in positive ways. Here are two examples coming from completely different angles. Information Radically Improves Economic Viability The Manobi foundation uses technology to provide rural farmers in Africa with current market prices. I have written about them before because what they are doing is so remarkably powerful. This video describes the Manobi foundation program that exponentially increased the earning power and transformed the lives of Senegalese farmers and their families. Learning from Video Games The following example comes from the 2010 TED conference, with game designer Jane McGonigal talking about the prosocial potential for video and online games. While the prosocial game, Evoke, is a great application, more important are the positive cognitive shifts in perception that come from game playing. All of the impacts are right out of the positive psychology handbook: increased … [Read more...]
Using Cell Phones and Video Games to Solve Social Problems
Move over Michael Jordan: Shoes are Out, Cell Phones are In
The study “Teenagers: A Generation Unplugged” by the wireless trade association CTIA and Harris Interactive reports that cell phones have become a vital part of a teen’s identity. The coolness of the cell phone is considered a marker for popularity and status and having a phone is essential to a teen's social life. (While most teens agreed that the iPhone was the coolest phone, most teens had a 'conventional' cell phone. Few could manage the high cost of the phone and the rates charged by AT&T.) The study results were announced at the CTIA Fall 2008 trade show. (See the overview at CNET.com) Photo credit: Local12. com The importance of a cell phone to teen identity matters to cell phone makers and network operators because teens are a huge demographic. (A recent CNET review is entitled "Top Cell Phones for Teens".) In fact, four out of 5 teens carry a cell phone with total cell phone owners up 40% since 2004. A Nielsen study reported that the average age of … [Read more...]
