NiemanLab: Younger Americans are listening to more non-music (like podcasts and news) than ever. “A new study shows more young Americans are listening to news, podcasts, and audiobooks than ever. Nearly all of that growth comes from listening on digital devices like phones, computers, smart speakers, and internet-connected TVs — and not AM/FM radio.”
The Register: Feeling virtuous with a good old paperback? Well, don’t. Switching to traditional media does not improve mood. “Those attempting a digital detox might settle down with a paper book in the assumption they are nurturing their well-being. But the benefits of traditional versus new media are not as clear as received wisdom leads us to believe. This is according to researchers that found steering clear of digital media such as games and social platforms and sticking to traditional, some would say more virtuous pastimes might not offer as much of a boost to well-being as many seem to think.
The Next Web: Religion isn’t the opiate of the masses — AI is. “Overall leisure time has increased by over an hour per day in the past ten years. How are we spending these extra 365 hours per year? Not playing with our kids, working on passion projects, exercising, or any other wholesome activity you may have guessed — we’re spending it in front of screens.”
Select/All: I Don’t Know How to Waste Time on the Internet Anymore. “The other day, I found myself looking at a blinking cursor in a blank address bar in a new tab of my web browser. I was bored. I didn’t really feel like doing work, but I felt some distant compulsion to sit at my computer in a kind of work-simulacrum, so that at least at the end of the day I would feel gross and tired in the manner of someone who had worked. What I really wanted to do was waste some time. But … I didn’t know how. I did not know what to type into the address bar of my browser. ”
A new Web site provides information about public parks in Delaware. “Play Outside is a single online information source that allows users to find public parks as well as exact locations of outdoor recreation facilities within parks and wildlife areas throughout the state. It includes all areas in the public trust managed by towns, cities, counties and state agencies in Delaware. The website is designed to serve those looking for outdoor recreation opportunities, places to be immersed in nature or to conduct active lifestyles. Users can locate parks close to home or in less-developed places such as wildlife areas.”
The state of Ohio has launched a new Web site to help you swim safely. “The program is called Beach Guard. It’s an online map listing Ohio’s public and semi-private beaches and their water conditions. Beaches that are under any type of advisory are flagged.”
Want to go trout fishing in Wisconsin? Here ya go. “The TROUT tool, an acronym for Trout Regulations and Opportunities User Tool, will optimize anglers’ time on the water by showing where publicly accessible land is relative to roads, bridge crossings and trout streams….The tool allows anglers to click a colored section of stream to see the specific regulation for that section of water. Check the fisheries regulations page for more information. An additional layer to the map provides insight in to the type of the fishery by identifying the trout stream classification.” Now I’m hungry. And I want to go fishing.
Backchannel: Instagram Is Ruining Vacation. “The phenomenon of photography annoying tourists is far from new. My parents wielded disposal cameras and Polaroids with the best of them, occasionally begging for at least one decent photo of my brother and me at the state fair, in front of the Golden Gate bridge, or smiling half-heartedly next to a mascot. My grandparents and their peers surely sat through the tediousness of home movies, slideshow sessions or guided photo album tours from friends and neighbors who were all too eager to brag about their recent safari or trip to Niagara Falls. Today, I treasure those family photos, especially the ones of generations of awkward siblings. But it never felt like the chronicling was the purpose of the trip, rather it was an afterthought.”
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