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The Use of Apps for Mental Health Has Outpaced the Scientific Evidence
The New York Times: One of every five Americans will experience major depression or anxiety every year. Unfortunately, most who suffer go untreated. To meet the need, a cottage industry has developed: Well-intentioned and enterprising individuals have designed over 3,000 apps dedicated to mental health, only some of which are free. The apps vary in function but most fall in line with the current zeitgeist of Track Thyself (whether it be calories, weight, steps or depression). The good news is that these kinds of apps increase access to health support and that access is portable. But their use should be supplemental, rather than a primary therapeutic avenue.
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Speak and Spell: How Dictation Software Makes Us Rethink Writing
Wired: IF I’VE WRITTEN you an email on my phone lately, you might have noticed something slightly off about it. It doesn’t read like email from me used to. I use fewer contractions, fewer adverbs, and I’m more likely to ramble. What’s changed is that, a year ago, I discovered that Android and Apple phones have become so good at transcription, it’s now much faster for me to talk than type. (And that’s saying a lot: I was a fast phone-typist.) So while sending texts and emails or using chat apps on my phone, I started talking it out—then quickly cleaning up any wrong words. There are shockingly few. I’d estimate that fully two-thirds of all messages I compose on my phone are now spoken. ...
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Coincidence or Conspiracy? Studies Investigate Conspiracist Thinking
A psychological study in Europe has overturned some long held assumptions about people who hold conspiracy-beliefs.
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Less Pain, Less Joy: A New Look at Acetaminophen
The Wall Street Journal: Consider this trade-off the next time you have a headache: Would you take a medicine that didn’t just ease the pain but muffled your happiness too? A recent study suggests that acetaminophen—found in Tylenol, Excedrin and a host of other medications—is an all-purpose damper, stifling a range of strong feelings. Throbbing pain, the sting of rejection, paralyzing indecision—along with euphoria and delight—all appear to be taken down a notch by the drug. For most people, this over-the-counter palliative doesn’t demand much thought: Take the right dose and the pain goes away. But it may not be that simple.
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Lengthy Commutes Take a Mental Toll
Long chunks of time spent on the road has now been linked to lower life satisfaction.
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When Do Babies Start Making Jokes?
New York Magazine: A devious infant is the protagonist of a recent viral video that was posted to Facebook earlier this month and has since racked up more than 26 million views. The basic plot line: Every time her dad goes to cut her fingernails, she cries out and makes a pained face — then quickly dissolves into baby giggles, clearly pleased with herself and her little joke. ... When you think about it, a joke is a pretty complicated thing, especially for a human so tiny as our little prankster here.