Are our phones melting our brains? Or is it just me? episode artwork

EPISODE · Aug 8, 2025 · 18 MIN

Are our phones melting our brains? Or is it just me?

from It's Been a Minute

Finding it hard to concentrate? Are you glued to social media for longer than you’d like? Well, maybe it’s not you… maybe it’s the phones. Brittany is joined by Magdalene Taylor, writer, cultural critic and senior editor at Playboy, and Fio Geiran, producer at TED Radio Hour and a writer of their Body Electric newsletter, to discuss this phrase: “it’s the phones.” They get into the effects that smartphones have on our brains and our culture, why some people are returning to “dumbphones,” and why it might take more than willpower to manage our relationships with our phones.Click here to check out the Body Electric newsletter.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

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Are our phones melting our brains? Or is it just me?

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