Home Screen: How to make your phone a tool, not a distraction

Sharina Nisha, Vodafone's Head of Platforms sits talking into her cellphone. The background is an image of the apps on her home screen.

How do productive people use their phones to their advantage? In the first part of a new series, The Spinoff asks Vodafone NZ’s head of platforms Sharina Nisha how she makes her phone work for her, and the apps she considers crucial. Sharina Nisha is the head of platforms at Vodafone NZ, a short title … Read more

Do primary school kids really need their own classroom iPads?

A push for greater digital access in schools can have its positives and also its negatives, as Julie Cullen explains. Recent articles in The Spinoff have examined digital inequality, and highlighted an initiative to increase digital access in a Māngere primary school. These articles raise valid points. Technology is used for so many activities now, … Read more

Let’s talk about screen time but not in a shitty way

Lily Emerson, a classification advisor at the Office of Film & Literature Classification, has some advice about screen time. And before you run screaming – it’s not what you think. It’s unavoidable. Screen time arguments – between the adults, or with the kids. Yep, just one more thing to look forward to this holiday season! … Read more

Screen time isn’t the enemy – the iPad is just another tool to help us parent

The hysteria over screen time for children is quite out of control. The suggestion seems to be that it’s safer to give your child a wasp hive dipped in cyanide than it is to give them an iPad. Angela Cuming is pushing back against the many headlines. Opinions about kids using iPads are a little … Read more