The business of silence: is there a hidden cost to noise cancelling?
Headphone and earplug sales are booming, but individual efforts to turn down the volume may alter our brains and surrounds in unexpected ways
Doom busters: why some things aren’t (quite) as bad as we think
We live in worrying times. From the climate crisis to the culture wars, there is always something to keep us fretting. But sometimes the facts tell a different story – a more hopeful one. Here, we speak to experts in search of some optimism and find 13 reasons to be a little more cheerful
Stop phubbing! The 10 rules of smartphone etiquette – from the bathroom to your bed
How do you use your phone without snubbing everyone around you? Experts explain when to pick it up and when to switch on ‘do not disturb’
‘I deleted my Twitter account’: eight readers on how they avoid digital burnout
Screen time can feel all-consuming. But there are ways to combat it. Guardian readers explain the rules, hobbies and habits that help them maintain healthy lives offline
‘Between pleasure and health’: how sex-tech firms are reinventing the vibrator
A new wave of sex toys is designed to combine orgasmic joy with relief from dryness, tension and pain
‘I feel constantly watched’: the employees working under surveillance
Monitoring software has become more common since the pandemic – but are activity scores the best way to measure productivity?
In the year since I quit social media, my screen time has fallen, my mood is up – even my resting heart rate is lower
A snap decision to step away has become a lifestyle shift for Philippa Moore. Though keeping up with friends can be tricky, she has no regrets
Human values, as well as AI, must be at the core of the future of work
Automation too often erodes conditions and job quality creating anxiety and overwork. To build ‘good work’, we must invest in people as well as tech
Wearable fitness trackers could interfere with cardiac devices, study finds
Bioimpedance sensing technologies as used in smartwatches could affect implanted devices like pacemakers
Broadcasting your breakfast: why TikTokers obsess over morning routines
With 15bn views to #MorningRoutine TikTok videos, Rachel Signer decided to wake up to the social media trend – and was served some societal critique with her cereal