Awards

• Booklist Top 10 Health & Wellness for Youth
• Maine Literary Book Award Finalist

Overview

Technology surrounds us every day: a phone alarm wakes us up, an electronic calendar tracks assignment deadlines, GPS directs us to the new dentist’s office, social media keeps us connected to friends and family, and streaming platforms make sure we’re never without something new to binge-watch. Our devices and apps can make life much more convenient and entertaining. But for years, scientists have warned that too much screen time may have negative effects on our health. With portable devices and remote learning, it is even more difficult to put down electronics. Being intentional about how and when to unplug can help teens and young adults to protect their physical and mental wellbeing in a world where screens and technology are increasingly becoming necessities rather than just conveniences. Attention Hijacked offers a roadmap for those deciding how they want to deal with technology, exploring the ways technology affects the individual, dispelling common misinformation, and using this knowledge to make personalized decisions. Page Plus links in the book lead to mindfulness and meditation audio clips. Using mindfulness techniques, this book gives readers the power to take charge of their technology use.

Full Product Details

9781728417196

Table of Contents

Reviews

"""A valuable handbook for developing a healthy relationship with technology.""--Kirkus Reviews -- (3/1/2022 12:00:00 AM) ""Cover[s] various aspects of mindfulness, with Marcus advising students what to do about all the busyness we face in this tech-fueled world. . . . lively and deeply relevant work that is a must for school and public libraries.""--starred, Booklist -- (4/15/2022 12:00:00 AM) ""This book guides teens to healthy tech habits by giving them agency to make informed choices.""--School Library Journal -- (6/1/2022 12:00:00 AM)"

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.--Kirkus Reviews -- Journal (3/1/2022 12:00:00 AM)

Marcus, a classroom teacher and mindfulness educator, opens by recounting a moment when she began to be more conscious of how tech use sometimes affects her negatively. She now uses tech in moderation, reminding readers that it doesn't have to be all or nothing: 'Just as I still sometimes eat Cheetos, I still sometimes mindlessly scroll through Instagram.' Next are chapters that walk students through how to think differently about their own tech use. The first chapter looks at how tech can be beneficial, especially during a time like a pandemic, and provides a useful list of youth-led or youth-oriented activist organizations to be found online. Next is a chapter that takes the lid off tech companies, telling readers how these behemoths can 'monitor and change your behavior.' Chapter 3 covers myths and facts about tech and could be the basis of a fun classroom true-or-false quiz to get conversation going. The remaining four chapters cover various aspects of mindfulness, with Marcus advising students what to do about all the busyness we face in this tech-fueled world. Particularly useful is a series of paired 'Hijack' and 'Mindful Approach' narratives that give specific advice for facing common issues (e.g., 'Hijack: Fear of Missing Out' and 'Mindful Approach: Return to Now'). Detailed notes, a list of recommended books and websites, and a robust index round out this lively and deeply relevant work that is a must for school and public libraries.--starred, Booklist -- Journal (4/15/2022 12:00:00 AM) 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.--Kirkus Reviews -- Journal (3/1/2022 12:00:00 AM)

Author Information

Erica Marcus has spent over fifteen years learning from the teens she works with as a classroom teacher, mindfulness educator/director, and a wilderness youth therapy field guide. She is based in Portland, Maine.

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