As a journalist who makes documentaries intended to spark conversations about our health and wellbeing, I’m very aware of the power of the majority. I believe that good old water cooler conversations and word of mouth are the crucial first step to creating positive, meaningful change. So when the third person in a week asked me if I’d seen the new Netflix documentary The Social Dilemma, I knew I had to see what all the fuss was about.The film features interviews with social media entrepreneurs as they lament their role in developing an industry model that they believe has polarised... Read full article »

It was 5pm and I’d gotten nowhere. I felt as if all the information that had been uploaded into my brain over the last few days had fragmented across my mind and my brain’s neural pathways were jammed. I had writers block; the mental equivalent of the SWOD (Spinning Wheel of Death) that accompanies a computer operating system in need of an upgrade. I was hurtling towards a grant deadline and every word I’d composed felt trite, vacuous and a long way off encapsulating the depth of the film that I was hoping the grant would allow me to release.... Read full article »

My name is Shannon and I’m addicted to my phone… again.A few months ago I woke up to my smartphone enslavement. After a deep dive into the scientific research and with the help of experts, I began honestly and painfully admitting that although I thought the device was a hallmark of the modern age and designed solely in the interest of progress, efficiency, connectivity and productivity, the cunning contraption was actually preventing me from savoring the very essence of what makes life good. After one especially regretful incident where my phone took precedent over a rare morning cuddle with my... Read full article »

Hello, my name is Shannon and I’m addicted to my phone.For years I have deluded myself into thinking that I was using the device solely for efficiency, productivity and connectivity, but the realisation that my phone is in charge of me and not the other way around dawned one recent Saturday morning.It was six in the morning and my four-year-son, who usually wakes early and repeatedly calls out to my husband and I until one of us is persuaded out of bed, instead, quietly crept into our room for a snuggle. As I slowly transitioned from deep sleep into wakefulness,... Read full article »

I woke up this morning feeling like crap. I didn’t get enough sleep. It wasn’t because I had sick kids, a work deadline, or even insomnia. My fatigue was self-inflicted. I had stayed up too late watching television. “Urgh,” I thought, as I wrangled my two kids through their breakfast. “There’s no way I’m getting through today uncaffeinated.”The crazy thing is that I fully intended to go to bed early last night. In fact, I was in bed by 9:00pm. But I recently learned that a certain online streaming service is available on my phone and when the one episode... Read full article »