Apple has announced five titles coming to the Apple Arcade service in April, including two spatial games for the Vision Pro Headset. New games Puyo Puyo Puzzle Pop, Super Monsters Ate My Condo+, and Sago Mini Trips+ will be available on April 4 across Apple devices. Meanwhile, Apple Vision Pro users will get Crossy Road Castle and Solitaire Stories on April 25. The Vision Pro mixed reality headset launched last month and boasts over a dozen spatial gaming experiences.
Smartphones for kids were a faustian bargain
24.02.2024 - 04:03 / tech.hindustantimes.com
It would be difficult to pinpoint the moment the smartphone took control of my life. Like Japanese knotweed, it grew surreptitiously in my mental garden, gradually throttling other forms of attention until it had insinuated itself into almost every activity. I check my screen time rarely, but I remember a sense of vague discomfort a few years ago on seeing that it had passed a daily average of six hours. Recently, it stood at more than 11.
Two decades ago, it seemed unimaginable that we might carry with us a handheld device that could be simultaneously: a phone; TV; radio; music player; shop; newspaper; book; map; wallet; bank; game console; admission ticket; calculator and translator. Among many other things, too numerous to list. I have used my phone as a tape measure, to identify plants and to prove my identity to the government. It was inevitable that access to such power and convenience would exact a price. Increasingly, it appears the most unanticipated and unacceptable has been our children's mental health.
It took the murder of a high school student in northwest England for me to admit to myself that I have a problem. The case, which saw the teenage killers of transgender 16-year-old Brianna Ghey jailed this month, has acted as the trigger for a national debate over children's use of technology. The victim's addiction to social media made her a vulnerable target, while one of the fellow students who stabbed her testified to having viewed torture and murder videos on the dark web via mobile phone. Ghey's mother is campaigning for under-16s to be barred from accessing social media apps. The UK government, responding to public pressure, issued new guidelines this week on preventing mobile-phone use in schools.
This rare and grisly event has helped draw attention to the far more commonplace and pervasive damage that smartphones, and particularly social media apps, do to the psychological and emotional well-being of young people. There is a burgeoning academic literature, and it is horrifying. Study after study has laid out evidence of an international epidemic of mental illness. Rates of anxiety, depression, attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder, anorexia and other conditions have soared since 2012, which happens to be just around the time when smartphones became ubiquitous. Girls are particularly at risk.
Correlation isn't causation. But there is no other explanation that fits the data. The global nature of the decline in mental health stands as strong confirming evidence. American students might have other reasons for anxiety — school shootings, say — but that wouldn't explain why the same trend might be observed in New Zealand or Brazil. Moreover, the younger a child gets a smartphone,
The website gametalkz.com is an aggregator of news from open sources. The source is indicated at the beginning and at the end of the announcement. You can send a complaint on the news if you find it unreliable.
Top Authors
Popular Topics
gamesradar.com
13.03.2024 / 11:21
Final Fantasy Tactics director encourages fans begging for a remake to give Unicorn Overlord their support: "The market for tactical RPGs is small"
The director of Final Fantasy Tactics and Tactics Ogre has once again rejected revival demands, suggesting fans simply play Unicorn Overlord instead.
techcrunch.com
12.03.2024 / 18:09
Google Play will show AI-powered FAQs and recent YouTube videos for games
Google announced a number of new features for Google Play listings for games including AI-powered FAQs, displaying the latest YouTube videos, new immersive ad formats, and support for native PC game publishing. The announcements were made at the Google Games Developer Summit held in San Fransisco.
gamesradar.com
12.03.2024 / 16:21
Hey '80s kids, the Lego Atari 2600 is now available at its lowest price, like, ever
The Lego Atari 2600, with its moving joystick and charming details, is a set that is an absolute must-have for anyone who loves retro gaming as much as they love Lego. Now, thanks to a rad discount, reliving the '80s is more affordable than ever. While the console replica would usually set you back $239.99, you can now pick up a Lego Atari with all its totally bodacious accessories for just $167.99 on Amazon. That's a 30% discount on the whole, and is also the lowest the kit has ever been at Amazon. In other words, it's one of the better Lego deals of this week.
gamesindustry.biz
12.03.2024 / 14:03
From California to the Philippines with friendly goblins: The story of Orc Chop Games
Goblin Stone, the debut title from Orc Chop Games, has two stories behind it. The narrative of the game itself is of innocent goblins turning the tables on the adventurers that so frequently invade their home, inverting a typical fantasy trope.
tech.hindustantimes.com
12.03.2024 / 02:31
Trump calls TikTok a threat but says some kids could 'go crazy' without it
U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump said on Monday that TikTok was a national security threat but also said that a ban on the popular app would hurt some kids and only strengthen Meta Platforms' Facebook, which the Republican has harshly criticized.
gamesradar.com
11.03.2024 / 12:03
Animated movies were in the firing line (again) at this year's Oscars, but Spider-Verse's Chris Miller has the perfect response
Animation was the butt of the joke at this year's Oscars ceremony, but one high-profile director/producer had the perfect response to the poorly received joke from host Jimmy Kimmel.
tech.hindustantimes.com
10.03.2024 / 05:03
Led by billionaire Elon Musk, Silicon Valley inches to the right in big boost for Donald Trump
Since his tumultuous takeover of Twitter, Elon Musk has made an unabashed turn to the right politically, defying the orthodoxy that Silicon Valley is a citadel of well-heeled liberals beholden to Democrats. Long considered non-identifiable ideologically, Musk's politics are now hardline right wing as he uses his platform (now called X) to stoke the themes cherished by Fox News, conservative talk radio and far right movements across the West.
tech.hindustantimes.com
10.03.2024 / 05:03
Stratolaunch conducts first powered flight of new hypersonic vehicle off California coast
U.S. aerospace company Stratolaunch conducted the first powered test flight of a new unmanned craft for hypersonic research on Saturday and called it a success.
ign.com
09.03.2024 / 01:11
Activision QA Workers Vote to Form Largest US Video Game Worker Union to Date
A group of roughly 600 quality assurance (QA) workers at Activision under Microsoft have successfully voted to unionize with the Communication Workers of America (CWA), becoming Activision Quality Assurance United.
techradar.com
08.03.2024 / 18:45
Nvidia’s GeForce Now Day Pass rents you an RTX 4080 GPU-powered gaming PC for 24 hours
Nvidia has a new way for gamers to use its GeForce Now streaming service in the form of a Day Pass.
pushsquare.com
05.03.2024 / 21:35
Sony's London Studio, Media Molecule Were Reportedly 'Highest on the List' for Closure | Push Square
In case you missed the big news last week, PlayStation joined the rest of the industry in cutting hundreds of jobs across its business. What's more, the platform holder is closing one of its longest-standing developers, London Studio — but it seems another UK team may have been at risk, too.