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    Can watching video games be a social exercise?

    Jun 30, 2015 9:49am | by Stephanie Werner

    Gaming is quickly surpassing yesteryear’s entertainment giants, such as film and television. According to Elan Lee, former chief design officer for Xbox Entertainment Studios, “There are more cumulative hours spent playing games than there are in any other form of entertainment.” Gaming is no doubt a booming industry. In 2014, the global games market was […]

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    Can technology help us live longer?

    Jun 25, 2015 1:35pm | by jesse

    Nintendo is the latest technology company with an eye for health care. The makers of Super Mario have introduced their QOL platform, which stands for Quality of Life, and includes an expanding line of health devices and sensors. Starting with Sleep, the company hopes their background in gaming will enable them to find success in […]

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    Do you feel the effects of the filter bubble?

    May 25, 2015 8:41am | by jesse

    For its first few decades, we’ve regarded the Internet as a kind of frontier. An expansive environment ripe for exploration and development. In particular the word cyberspace evokes the mental or imaginative element to this emerging world. However the rise of social media has brought human relationships and human needs to the forefront. Vint Cerf, […]

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    What does it mean to live in two places simultaneously?

    Apr 30, 2015 8:44am | by jesse

    This is a question we could ask the teenager of generations passed who spent their social time on the telephone rather than at the five and dime. Electronic communication and then digital communication has allowed our voice and our imagination to travel elsewhere while the rest of our body remains rooted in place. Virtual environments […]

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    Turning to the Internet for help

    Apr 12, 2015 9:00am | by jesse

    The Internet’s ubiquity makes it an easy place to turn for connections, distractions, and answers to some of life’s most difficult questions. The growing ability for search engines to anticipate our queries and help direct us to helpful material also reinforces the belief that we can turn to the web for any issue that may […]

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    Join the conversation via #tvofuturenow

    Apr 9, 2015 11:33am | by jesse

    Want to add your own perspective? Have an issue that you feel is relevant that you’d like us to write about? Is there an aspect of Avatar Secrets or Life After Digital that you’d like us to explore further? Tweet us via #tvofuturenow and join the discussion. Related posts: Almost ready to launch The Agenda: […]

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    The power of video game communities

    Mar 12, 2015 9:11am | by jesse

    For centuries, guilds and religious orders played a powerful role in shaping and governing basic elements of human society. In the modern era they were replaced by corporations, unions, and political parties. In the digital era, are gaming clans and online communities becoming the new manifestation of social power? The organizations that shape and govern […]

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    Who has access to your data trail?

    Feb 18, 2015 4:13pm | by jesse

    The battle over privacy is starting to mature, and the public debate is moving from whether we value our privacy (we do) and whether privacy will survive (it will) to now address who controls the data that’s out there. Every action we take in the digital domain creates a shadow that reflects our behaviour, logs […]

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    Do you manage your privacy and reputation?

    Feb 6, 2015 12:13pm | by jesse

    One of the recurring themes explored in both Avatar Secrets as well as Life After Digital is the relationship between technology and agency. The idea that we can choose to use our tools in ways that we deem fit, that we have the opportunity to shape our society and even our reality. Privacy is another […]

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    Is your virtual experience real?

    Jan 15, 2015 12:44pm | by jesse

    The fusion of the real and virtual into a kind of hybrid reality has been happening in a sort of slow motion over the past decade. While the experience varies, especially across generations, we’ve all become hypnotized by screens that seem to teleport us into different kinds of realities. Carnegie Mellon University Professor Jessica Hammer […]