How the Internet Reinforces Inequality in the Real World - I’m currently researching some travel options overseas. We want to experience a somewhat realistic glimpse of the country, but I’m often left wondering if using the Internet as my means of research and planning will leave me with a very different view of the country than if we just step off the plane and tried to find connections. Consequentially, this article was particularly fascinating to me–asking some important questions that not only examine the way the Internet affects life abroad, but how it also serves to reinforce many of the inequalities here in our own towns and cities.

“Every technological innovation today around a new smart-phone app or web platform improving quality of life in citiescomes with a caveat. What about the people who can’t access those tools? What about the people on the other side of the digital divide who lack access to home computers, Internet connections, unlimited data plans? These are the people who go “unmapped” in the geoweb.”

“There are at least three ways to think about all of this digital information about real-world places in the geoweb. What types of content are out there layered over a city (FourSquare check-ins at its restaurants, Wikipedia pages about its parks, geotagged tweets from its residents)? Where is that content coming from (who’s writing those Wikipedia pages, those tweets)? And who’s looking at it all? “Basically,” Graham says, “how visible are the digital shadows of cities?”"

“And we can see similar patterns – sometimes deceptive ones – emerged in the tweets from New York City during Hurricane Sandy. During the storm, the densest quantity of Sandy-related tweets emerged from Manhattan, relative to other boroughs of the city. But that doesn’t mean that Manhattan suffered the worst damage; rather, that it often produces the largest quantity of data. It’s easy to conflate the two, though, which is why maps often equate with power.”

“All of this information, Graham stresses, doesn’t exist in some kind of virtual world that’s separate from the real one. The two are intimately intertwined: We use digital information to navigate and understand the physical world, and in turn our experiences of place impact how we then contribute to the information about them. When we use this information (by, for example, clicking on a restaurant on Google Maps), we are often simultaneously consumers and producers of it (that single click is another data point in Google’s vast machine). All of this means that the geoweb may not just be reinforcing real-world inequalities. In many ways, it’s also enabling us to have dramatically difference experiences of the same places.”

Stress-Less Parenting: What Everyone Can Learn From Lazy French Mothers - Pamela Druckerman (of Bringing up Bébé, review here) writes the first in a Huffington Post Parenting Club series. While I’m sure my French-borne and French friends could clarify whether or not “the French way” is so obviously black and white, I can definitely agree with the overall message of the article.

“By now it’s a cliché that American families are in a bit of hurry. From my daughter’s first birthday, friends and family back in the U.S. began sending her electronic alphabet games and boxes of flash cards. (My French neighbors didn’t know what these were.) On trips back to the U.S., I watched parents monologue endlessly to their toddlers as they bumbled around playgrounds. (French parents tend to sit on the perimeter while children play by themselves). It seems obvious to us that the sooner kids can pass through developmental milestones, the better, and that it’s up to us grown-ups to grease the process.

The competitive rush continues for older kids. Social scientists who camp out in middle-class households observe “the hurried lifestyle” in which life is ruled by activity charts on color-coded white boards. Sociologist Annette Lareau describes a typical American family in which, “on any given weeknight or weekend day, one, two or sometimes all three of the boys have events, often at different times and in different parts of town.”

We Americans have reasons for subjecting ourselves to all this busyness — and the stress that inevitably comes with it. I heard about studies showing that poor kids fall behind in school because they didn’t get enough stimulation early on. Surely that means middle-class kids could benefit from more stimulation too? And we have a vague sense that arming kids with lots of skills from extracurriculars will lead to better outcomes — or that they might fall behind their peers if we don’t sign them up.”

“However, recent research lands on the side of the French. Extracurriculars are fine in moderation. But kids need lots of free time too. “‘Play’ (or some available free time in the case of older children or adolescents) is essential to the cognitive, physical, social and emotional well-being of children and youth,” a study in the journal Pediatrics explains. Brain research calls the notion that the more you stimulate little kids, the smarter they’ll be, a “neuromyth.” Apparently, teaching preschoolers lots of reading and math takes time away from the things their brains are most primed to learn at that age — like how to concentrate and get along with other people.”

“Perhaps our mistake in America isn’t all those tennis lessons. It’s being so focused on outcomes, we’ve forgotten that the quality of the 18 or so years we spend living en famille matters too. I personally plan to spend as much of that time as possible in cafés, while my children play.”

Harmful Handwashing: The Dangers of Antibacterial Soaps - It’s the time of year again (at least in our part of the world) when we suspect sickness to be lurking everywhere, if not just a cough or sneeze away. While I’m not actively using my Biology degree at this season of life, I am recalling many lectures one great micro/biology professor gave and trying to put them to practical use where applicable. One of the things he often discussed was making sure we realized the problems that overuse (and use) of antibacterial gels and soaps could cause, both on a personal level and toward the general population. I feel like this article does a good job of conveying some of the main problems linked with antibacterial soaps and gels:

• “The antibacterial chemicals are essentially antibiotics.  They are effective in killing bacteria, but do not kill viruses, which are the cause of colds and the flu.
• The most susceptible bacteria strains are killed when washing your hands, leaving behind the stronger bacteria.  This can lead to strains of bacteria resistant to antibiotics, such as the MRSA that we hear so much about in the news.
• Research has shown that exposure to bacteria can actually be good because it strengthens your immune system.   People—especially children—who live in a particularly sterile environment are more prone to infections when they do have exposure to germs.
• According to the CDC, researchers are finding a link between allergies and the use of antibacterial soaps.  Again, the soaps reduce the need for the immune system to be strengthened, which can cause allergy problems as well.”

“The good news is that scientists show that use of good, old fashioned, regular soap is just as effective in washing bacteria and viruses off of our hands as antibacterial soap. All you have to do is lather up and scrub well.  The germ fighting power comes from scrubbing thoroughly and effectively rather than from any chemical additives.  This way you can get rid of most of the germs without knowingly exposing yourself to potentially harmful chemicals.”

Beyond this, the use of antibacterial soaps/gels potentially provides a false sense of security that may lead to a carelessness when thinking about microbial transfer and handling. Looking at things from a slightly different angle, I think there is a sense of fear and hype surrounding sickness that leads to nearly obsessive, yet somewhat misinformed, use of antibacterials. The link also includes further problems of triclosan, one of the most commonly used ingredients in antibacterials.

(Thanks to my friend Kristen for allowing me to engage in discussing this in real life last week. )

Killer Deals, Prices To Die For - The cost of our love for “cheap” is higher than we think, and it’s often paid for in human costs. My online friend Emeth Hesed has some helpful writing in thinking more about this topic, and how we need to consider stewardship over convenience.

“Just because shopping in modern America has become an impersonal, faceless thing does not mean there are not faces on the other side. We just can’t see them anymore. And many of them are suffering and dying so we can get two for $1 instead of one for $2 or $3 or $4 or $5.“

“I believe that shoppers have an ethical responsibility for what they buy, because whatever they buy, they are funding somebody. I found out that all kinds of things I used to buy without thinking are actually contributing to slave labor. I am paying evil men who buy slaves and force them to work in unthinkably horrible situations, being beaten, malnourished, and dying, all for what? So we can buy cheap, low-quality products at Walmart or the dollar store.”

“I don’t believe that legislation will fix anything. I don’t think it will necessarily even help anything. The only real solution is for consumers to become more aware, to start paying attention, for people to examine their consciences about what their money will do to other people before they pounce on a great deal. Whatever the laws are, dishonest businessmen will find a way around them, as long as there is demand for unethically produced items.”

It’s easy to place frugality and greed too close together, and then to allow the lines to blur. I think, too often, we simply spiritualize our greed and call it frugality. But in the market of the world, our greed doesn’t end with us; it has long-term costs, and when we constantly push for the most we can possibly get for the least possible cost, we will inevitably continue to fuel the market for cheap labor, which sometimes comes in the form of slave labor. Either one can be dehumanizing. At the same time, it’s possible to still pay more for cheap trinkets, and the laborer still suffers. (And as my Aunt Becky is always quick to point out–there is a difference between the meanings of cheap and inexpensive.)

Is Facebook envy making you miserable? - An insightful article on our use of social media.

“LONDON (Reuters) – Witnessing friends’ vacations, love lives and work successes on Facebook can cause envy and trigger feelings of misery and loneliness, according to German researchers.

The researchers found that one in three people felt worse after visiting the site and more dissatisfied with their lives, while people who browsed without contributing were affected the most.”

“”The spread and ubiquitous presence of envy on Social Networking Sites is shown to undermine users’ life satisfaction.”

They found people aged in their mid-30s were most likely to envy family happiness while women were more likely to envy physical attractiveness.

These feelings of envy were found to prompt some users to boast more about their achievements on the site run by Facebook Inc. to portray themselves in a better light.

Men were shown to post more self-promotional content on Facebook to let people know about their accomplishments while women stressed their good looks and social lives.”

Watching What They Watch - Christianity Today’s Her.Meneutics article gives 9 tips for media selection for kids ages 3 to 10. I found much of this thinking similar to ours, including why we don’t find Veggie Tales a good choice for young kids.

“Especially in Christian circles, I hear plenty of pontificating on the evils of American entertainment, but as a parent, what I need most is realistic advice for the world I live in. Most of us are not going to burn our TVs. Most of us need a positive and practical model for how to raise “media wise” kids. That model should address not just the content of what we show our kids, but also the form it comes in and how it’s made. That’s why media literacy matters.”

“Pay attention to how fast the video moves. The faster the cut rate—more edits or image changes per minute—the more frenetic the video, and the more frenetic the video, the more difficulty your child will have tracking the story. Generally speaking, the younger the child, the slower the cut rate.”

“Even if your child seems to be tracking a fast-paced video, be cognizant of how it impacts her emotional state. A frenetic video with lots of visual edits and up-tempo music can rev her system the same way rock music revs your system. Conversely, a slower video will help calm her system. Keep in mind, too, that TV viewing impacts cognitive development. Some studies indicate that, even in homes that value education, excess TV exposure impairs learning in school.”