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Alex Soojung-Kim Pang
Silicon Valley, California
I study how people and technologies shape each other.
Interests: history of science and technology, emerging technologies, weblogs, silicon valley, futures, contemplative computing, user experience, human-computer interaction, calming computing
Recent Activity
A national tourism campaign featuring digital detox
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, a Caribbean nation consisting of a small chain of islands, ran a tourism campaign in 2012 built around the idea of getting away from your devices: New research shows that nearly half of us feel so tied down by technology we can't let an email... Continue reading
Posted 3 hours ago at Contemplative Computing
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Curation versus reflection
Janet Kornblum (who I mentioned in a previous post) has a reflection on "Curating life (or not) from a hospital bed," prompted by a hospital stay and the strangeness of getting "Get well soon!" messages on Facebook. I'm one of those people who believes privacy is dead and the best... Continue reading
Posted 9 hours ago at Contemplative Computing
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Abraham Heschel on entertainment versus celebration
I argue in chapter 6 of my book that there's an important distinction between recreation and restoration, and that it's better for us to pursue the second rather than the first. This morning I came across a quote by the great Abraham Heschel (whose book The Sabbath is one of... Continue reading
Posted 11 hours ago at Contemplative Computing
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"We’re blaming people who are merely responding to social demands"
Author Janet Kornblum makes a good point about digital Sabbaths: Chastising folks for being too connected, too often, is a lot like scolding young women for being too obsessed about their looks. We’re blaming people who are merely responding to social demands: Our society demands that women have a certain... Continue reading
Posted yesterday at Contemplative Computing
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"we couldn’t stand in line somewhere for even five minutes without looking at our phones"
Two friends in Virginia, Amber and Amanda, spent a month earlier this year on a digital detox. Amber started thinking about going offline for a month, she writes, when I realized that there were many things I didn’t like about how I was using social media. The social aspect seemed... Continue reading
Posted yesterday at Contemplative Computing
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"some people on the cutting edge of tech are trying their best to push it back a few feet"
Nick Bilton, who like me seems to go everywhere with a really nice camera (you don't this kind of bokeh from a smartphone camera), has a couple recent pieces about getting away from gadgets and life online. As every aspect of our daily lives has become hyperconnected, some people on... Continue reading
Posted 2 days ago at Contemplative Computing
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Designing for delight should be the first step toward designing for humans
Do you feel happier using your smartphone? Get a dopamine hit from balancing your books? That's because Silicon Valley has embraced "delight." Los Angeles Times tech writer Chris O'Brien* has a recent piece about how the term is taking off in Silicon Valley: Yahoo Inc. Chief Executive Marissa Mayer wants... Continue reading
Posted 3 days ago at Contemplative Computing
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New post on Medium
A little while ago I got an invitation to contribute to Medium, and decided to try it out this morning. I posted there an essay on Nigel Thrift's new piece on attention in the digital age, which I kind of went Morozov on. But it was a nice, brief example... Continue reading
Posted 5 days ago at Contemplative Computing
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Remembering Riki Kuklick
Yesterday I found out that one of my mentors from college and graduate school, Henrika Kuklick, died. Riki was one of the professors who got me hooked on the history of science, and along with Rob Kohler helped make me... Continue reading
Posted May 14, 2013 at Relevant History
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Look on Contemplative Computing
Just a note: most of my blogging these days happens on my Contemplative Computing blog, though I also maintain an active (but not too active) Twitter account. Continue reading
Posted May 13, 2013 at Relevant History
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Playing Russian Roulette with your Facebook account
”Everyone talks about deleting their Facebook account, but we rarely take action," Social Roulette co-creator Kyle McDonald says. "Sometimes we need a simple game to help take the responsibility off our shoulders, and provide a moment for reflection." So he and friends created Social Roulette, which as Tech Crunch explains... Continue reading
Posted May 13, 2013 at Contemplative Computing
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Damon Young on cyborgs and freedom
While reading Damon Young's 2008 book Distraction-- which I highly recommend-- I came across this nice bit about technology, freedom, and responsibility. He first makes the case that the idea of becoming freer by abandoning technology won't work: The essence of technology isn't cogs or computer chips, it's our way... Continue reading
Posted May 13, 2013 at Contemplative Computing
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Is Google Glass an anti-distraction tool?
In the wake of the Guardian article on conscious computing I've had a couple interesting conversations with people about Google Glass and whether it-- and more generally wearables-- will increase or decrease digital distraction. Since I haven't yet worn them, I can't really say much about Google Glass, though my... Continue reading
Posted May 11, 2013 at Contemplative Computing
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Contemplative computing in the Guardian
Oliver Burkeman has a really great piece in the Guardian about contemplative computing, or what he refers to as conscious computing. Thanks to my genius of an agent, Oliver got a copy of my book a few weeks ago, and so I was able to connect with him, talk on... Continue reading
Posted May 10, 2013 at Contemplative Computing
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On productivity, speed, and normal life and work
Biz Tech Magazine's Ricky Ribeiro has one of those tech piece about technology driving our love of speed that sounds kind of upbeat, but actually is really depressing once you think about it. (Kind of like most Maroon 5 songs.) Speed, he argues, is what users expect of technology. Fast... Continue reading
Posted May 10, 2013 at Contemplative Computing
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"In the war against the cult of speed, the front line is inside our heads"
I hate to admit it, but despite spending years working around its edges, I've never read Carl Honore's In Praise of Slowness: Challenging the Cult of Speed. I'm finally reading it, and it's great-- though it also reveals how challenging it is to talk about slowness and deliberation in an... Continue reading
Posted May 5, 2013 at Contemplative Computing
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Iron Man 3 on machines and distractions
(Which is great, by the way.) Tony: ...these things, they're-- Pepper: Machines. Tony: --part of me. Pepper: They're distractions. Tony [pauses]: Maybe. Continue reading
Posted May 3, 2013 at Contemplative Computing
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Students "could not go for 15 minutes without engaging their devices"
So reports Larry Rosen, a professor who studies multitasking among students. He recently did a study in which students from middle school through college were told to “study something important, including homework, an upcoming examination or project, or reading a book for a course." But, as Slate author Annie Paul... Continue reading
Posted May 3, 2013 at Contemplative Computing
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White Men Wearing Google Glasses was bound to happen sooner or later
...and now it has. On Tumblr, natch. Continue reading
Posted May 3, 2013 at Contemplative Computing
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"Text neck" is now a Thing
So says CNN: The average human head weighs 10 pounds in a neutral position -- when your ears are over your shoulders. For every inch you tilt your head forward, the pressure on your spine doubles. So if you're looking at a smartphone in your lap, your neck is holding... Continue reading
Posted May 3, 2013 at Contemplative Computing
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“I found myself downloading a different browser just so I could check my Facebook.”
That's certainly one way to get around an Internet blocking plug-in! Continue reading
Posted May 2, 2013 at Contemplative Computing
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Shorter HTC First™ AT&T Commercial: "Blow me, reality"
Seriously, what the Hell is going on with these Facebook Home commercials? I mean, have companies given up on the idea that the cellphone is anything other than a distraction machine? Continue reading
Posted May 2, 2013 at Contemplative Computing
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"I needed to... disconnect at certain times in order to remain connected"
Venture capitalists are starting to discover, or at least starting to write about, digital Sabbaths. Brad Feld, a managing director at Foundry Group, has a thoughtful piece a couple weeks ago (thanks, Anthony, for pointing it out to me), and now Excel Capital's Jeremy Shure weighs in on his digital... Continue reading
Posted May 2, 2013 at Contemplative Computing
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How you spend your online hour
Experian released a new study on Internet use on personal computers: Experian Marketing Services, a global provider of integrated consumer insight, targeting and cross channel marketing, reveals that if the time spent on the Internet for personal computers was distilled into an hour then 27 percent of it would be... Continue reading
Posted May 2, 2013 at Contemplative Computing
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"I wanted to figure out what the internet was 'doing to me,' so I could fight back"
Verge writer Paul Miller (the Verge does some excellent work now, in case you haven't noticed) spent a year offline, and writes about the experience. It's sort of the ultimate digital Sabbath. My goal, as a technology writer, would be to discover what the internet had done to me over... Continue reading
Posted May 1, 2013 at Contemplative Computing
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