Basically, there's no noise isolation at all, even less than with standard earbuds. You push the volume up to compensate for noise and damage your ears. Take away: use them at home or in quiet places, don't use them in the street, subway, or other loud environments.
We've been inundated with articles about the dangers of phone addiction. This one takes it a step further by linking it to stress hormone levels. Not a surprise.
British journalist Carole Cadwalladr gave an impassioned speech at the TED conference where she took on the silicon valley big guys for their role in the brexit mess. Predictably, their reactions weren't very warm.
"The current service economy makes the middle class the working class and the working class the working poor. […] So, the next time you use an app that makes your life simpler and more convenient, spare a moment to wonder whether it’s making someone else’s life much more miserable."
We are filled with uncertainty all day long, and that drives us to try to do more, to get control of everything, to cram more into our lives, to stay addicted to technology and distraction.
Taking photos of an event rather than being immersed in it has been shown to lead to poorer recall of the actual event – we get distracted in the process.