My research investigates the negative impact of social media and smartphone usage on mental health and well-being. Through mindfulness-based interventions, and evidence-based methodologies, I aim to identify problematic behaviors, develop strategies for meaningful change, and explore social technologies’ broader implications on compassion and nervous system health. Key studies from 2023-2024 identified specific behaviors—like passive consumption and frequent notifications—that correlate with anxiety, depression, stress, and reduced life satisfaction. Using the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale, I refined tools to assess and categorize problematic behaviors. A collaboration with data scientist Nick Hunkins analyzed 576 participants in a five-week social media intervention (PRISM), revealing that higher levels of social media addiction were strongly associated with increased stress and a diminished sense of personal agency. Participants who adhered to self-directed goals experienced significant reductions in both stress and addiction levels, emphasizing the importance of intentional behavior change. PRISM integrates mindfulness, psychology education, and peer support. It has high effectiveness in reducing problematic usage and improving well-being for individuals at clinical levels of social media dependency. Practices such as meditation, journaling, and community engagement foster attentional control and help replace harmful digital habits with meaningful alternatives. Through workshops, outreach, and educational initiatives, I have shared this information with students, educators, and parents, reaching over 1,500 individuals in 2023-2024. Moving forward, my goal is to expand the reach of this work, creating scalable resources and interventions to help more people reclaim their well-being and foster healthier relationships with technology.
keywords
mindfulness-based interventions, social media, smartphones, social support, stress-management, education, empathy, prosocial behavior, perspective-taking, mentalizing, cognitive science, evolutionary psychology, neuroscience
ATLS 1100 - Design Foundations
Primary Instructor
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Spring 2018
Introduces foundational principles, practices and methods of design. Emphasizes design as an expressive and creative problem solving tool. This course engages with design from a broad perspective including visual, computational, physical and auditory design practices. Through lectures, discussions and creative projects, students will gain a familiarity with the diverse applications of creative technology through design.
ATLS 2000 - The Meaning of Information Technology
Primary Instructor
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Fall 2018 / Spring 2019 / Fall 2019 / Spring 2020 / Summer 2020 / Fall 2020 / Spring 2021 / Summer 2021 / Fall 2021 / Spring 2022 / Summer 2022 / Fall 2022 / Summer 2023 / Fall 2023 / Spring 2024 / Summer 2024 / Fall 2024
A survey of the mutual influence of technology, media, and society. Equips students with an understanding of technological transformations in interpersonal, organizational, and mass communication. Emphasis is on the technological, social and political changes that underlie the movement toward a digital society. As such, the class acts as a survey of various technologies and their relationship to socio-political issues. We not only address �how does it work� and �where does this come from� but �why is it here� and �how does it impact us as individuals and as a society�.
ATLS 4000 - Research Methods and Professional Practice
Primary Instructor
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Fall 2020 / Fall 2021 / Fall 2022 / Fall 2023 / Fall 2024
Research Methods and Professional Practice lays the foundation for students to produce culminating work in their major. In this course, students will engage in domain exploration, learn to define a research problem, utilize tools and methods for professional design research, refine presentation skills, and engage in iterative and collaborative work. This course is focused on domain research, idea validation, and prototyping in order to prepare students for a culminating semester-long Capstone project based on this research. Formerly offered as a special topics course.
ATLS 4010 - Capstone Projects
Primary Instructor
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Spring 2021 / Spring 2022 / Spring 2023 / Spring 2024
Focuses on the development of an individual thesis project. Specific class sessions will feature a combination of lectures, demonstrations, guest speakers, lab sessions, and critiques. This course also entails group work, portfolio development, critical theoretical readings, and a significant written component.
ATLS 4112 - Neurohacking
Primary Instructor
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Fall 2022 / Fall 2023 / Fall 2024
Explores psychotechnologies for developing high level metacognition and individual sovereignty. We investigate the optimization of conscious human experience, mindfulness, and creativity through the lenses of neuroscience, cognitive science, evolutionary psychology, and philosophy. Students will learn to critique primary literature, experimental design, and be guided in developing a set of practices to enhance cognition and achieve various desired mental states. Same as ATLS 5112.
ATLS 4244 - Empathy and Technology
Primary Instructor
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Spring 2021 / Spring 2022 / Spring 2023 / Spring 2024
Explores how the creative integration of empathy and compassion with design and technology can benefit society. Reviews foundational neuroscience and evolution of empathy. Through readings, discussion, and reflection students will develop personal practices for fostering empathy and critically investigate: empathy as a finite resource, tribalism/polarization, the weaponization of empathy, and principles for designing social systems that promote well-being. Previously offered as a special topics course. Same as ATLS 5244.
ATLS 4519 - Advanced Special Topics
Primary Instructor
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Fall 2024
Analyzes special interest areas of multidisciplinary creative technology and design research and practice. May be repeated up to 32 total credit hours.
ATLS 4529 - Advanced Special Topics: Critical Perspectives in Technology
Primary Instructor
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Spring 2018 / Fall 2018 / Fall 2019 / Spring 2020 / Fall 2020 / Fall 2021
Analyzes critical perspectives in technology, art and media. Within these courses, students will develop vocabularies, theoretical perspectives and critical approaches relevant to technology and its effects on culture and society. May be repeated up to 9 total credit hours. Same as ATLS 5529.
ATLS 5112 - Neurohacking
Primary Instructor
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Fall 2022 / Fall 2023
Explores psychotechnologies for developing high level metacognition and individual sovereignty. We investigate the optimization of conscious human experience, mindfulness, and creativity through the lenses of neuroscience, cognitive science, evolutionary psychology, and philosophy. Students will learn to critique primary literature, experimental design, and be guided in developing a set of practices to enhance cognition and achieve various desired mental states. Same as ATLS 4112.
ATLS 5244 - Empathy and Technology
Primary Instructor
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Spring 2021 / Spring 2022 / Spring 2023 / Spring 2024
Explores how the creative integration of empathy and compassion with design and technology can benefit society. Reviews foundational neuroscience and evolution of empathy. Through readings, discussion, and reflection students will develop personal practices for fostering empathy and critically investigate: empathy as a finite resource, tribalism/polarization, the weaponization of empathy, and principles for designing social systems that promote well-being. Previously offered as a special topics course. Same as ATLS 4244.
ATLS 5519 - Adv Topics
Primary Instructor
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Spring 2021
Analyzes special interest areas of multidisciplinary creative technologies and design research and practice. May be repeated up to 9 total credit hours for different topics.
ATLS 5529 - Advanced Special Topics: Critical Perspectives in Technology
Primary Instructor
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Spring 2018 / Fall 2018 / Fall 2019 / Spring 2020 / Fall 2020 / Fall 2021
Analyzes critical perspectives in technology, art and media. Within these courses, students will develop vocabularies, theoretical perspectives and critical approaches relevant to technology and its effects on culture and society. May be repeated up to 9 total credit hours. Same as ATLS 4529.
