This morning we spoke about how childhoods have changed during the last 20 years. How have smartphones – especifically social media – impacted children and young people? We tried to figure out which age group or generation was potentially effected most by smartphone and social media use and abuse.

Below is a collection of links that deal with these questions. See also Jonathan Haidt’s book ‘The Anxious Generation”.

This morning we spoke about the experience of learning or starting to learn something new as older adults and the questiion came up, if or how learning changes throughout a lifetime. One class member assumed, as do many, that it gets slower with age. But is that necessarily true or just one of those negative assumptions associated with aging.

And in the middle of things stands someone you might only remember from a movie starring Julia Roberts as the main character.

Go to Goodreads or Amazon. Check out for yourself. Before you go on reading.

I first encountered the term in an article published by Mona Lazar in Medium The Buy Nothing Rebellion: 7 Refusals | Medium. I had before followed TED talks on Minimalism, a predecessor movement, something different, similar or basically the same? I do not know. Maybe it is just a new term for a recurring movement that takes on different qualities over time and generations.

Sting’s song from 1987 is one of my favorites for sharing with groups. The lyrics are a reference to Quentin Crisp. Quentin Crisp lived from 1909 to 1999, and to understand the lyrics of Sting’s song you need to know that Quentin Crisp was ‘himself, no matter what they said’. He was a young homosexual man in the 20ies and 30ies of the 20th century, and did not hide it. He refused – or maybe just couldn’t – adhere to social norms of gender conformity. In that he was ‘the hero of the day’.

First posted October 2025; last updated August 2026

A summary with frequently shared links

When I browse through all the topics that have dominated throughout the last years, i.e. topics that come up again and again, everything around digitalization definitely qualifies. The range is wide: from the internet in general, to smartphone related topics, and – the newest since ChatGPT abruptly entered the market – A.I.

In a time, when autocratic leadership seems to be mushrooming throughout the world, even in the country many used to consider a reliable torch bearer of democracy, the topic of leadership has become one of utmost importance.

As much as I would like to say ‘good riddance’, there were some things I enjoyed in 2024. (And those developments I consider less positive are most likely here to stay for a while, I’m afraid.) So let’s take a little look back…

This is an evergreen topic: Misunderstood song lyrics, also know as ‘mondegreens’. There are some classic ones everybody knows, and some where you wonder if they are truly mondegreens or not really attempts at humor. Why they are called ‘mondegreens’ and more of them ….