Mark Zuckerberg is talking about the introduction of a dislike button on Facebook (see coverage in NBCNews.com or BBC News). Reaction has been mixed. From my vantage, people may Like the idea, even if they don’t get how it’s supposed to be used. Marketers, however, will face muddier waters such as figuring out... read more →
Sep
16
Aug
27
Public acts of violence are just that, public. They are meant to be overt demonstrations of the perpetrator's power and purpose, offsetting feelings of alienation and powerlessness that are associated with such acts. In focusing on social media and this distribution, however, we lose sight of the contribution that mental... read more →
Jul
11
In Why Sticks are Good for Kids on PsychologyToday.com, Andrea Bonior makes some excellent points about the importance of allowing creativity and imagination in play without overzealous, politically-correct, anxiety-driven restriction that keeps kids out of trees and puddles and away from sticks. When I was a kid, we lived near an... read more →
Jul
08
The Russian authorities have launched a “safe selfie” campaign in response to a series of deaths and serious injuries among selfie-takers who, in the pursuit of extreme selfie shots, have suffered numerous accidents such as falling off bridges, receiving self-inflicted gunshot wounds and being bitten by venomous snakes. The Russian booklet... read more →
May
18
In Part 1, I talked about the importance of consulting with a healthcare professional to learn about healthy diet approaches. Most apps are not based on behavioral change theory. As I wrote in Part 2, apps are uniquely suiting to providing easy ways of self-monitoring diet and activity and facilitating... read more →
Dr. Pamela Rutledge is available to reporters for comments on the psychological and social impact of media and technology on individuals, society, organizations and brands.