In The News: Department of Sociology
In an “always on” society — where we carry mini computers in our pockets at all times that are capable of solving nearly any problem or desire with a tap, pinch, or click — we can’t seem to escape the ever-increasing role that computer technologies play in our lives.
Is this "new normal" quite so normal when it comes to your health?
Brazil is the country with the highest rate of people with anxiety disorders worldwide.
Technology has made many aspects of daily life much easier. So why do we still feel so overwhelmed?
![KNPR News](/sites/default/files/styles/100_width_25_height/public/news_source/logo/knpr.png?itok=2vihM0TC)
It may seem surprising in an era of #MeToo and #Times Up, where a national conversation and reckoning is going on with regard to the exploitation of women, but Barbara Brents is bullish on brothels. “Time’s not up for Nevada brothels,” the UNLV professor and sex-industry researcher says. “If anything, the time is now for Nevada brothels.”
Technology has made many aspects of daily life much easier. So why do we still feel so overwhelmed?
The marshmallow test is one of the most famous pieces of social-science research: Put a marshmallow in front of a child, tell her that she can have a second one if she can go 15 minutes without eating the first one, and then leave the room. Whether she’s patient enough to double her payout is supposedly indicative of a willpower that will pay dividends down the line, at school and eventually at work. Passing the test is, to many, a promising signal of future success.
In this 24/7, “always on” age, the prospect of doing nothing might sound unrealistic and unreasonable. But it’s never been more important.
Our lives are so full of constant alerts and digital intrusion that it may seem like our head is going to explode.
In the 1950s, scholars worried that, thanks to technological innovations, Americans wouldn’t know what to do with all of their leisure time, says Simon Gottschalk, professor of sociology at UNLV.
In the 1950s, scholars worried that, thanks to technological innovations, Americans wouldn’t know what to do with all of their leisure time.
![Vox](/sites/default/files/styles/100_width_25_height/public/news_source/logo/Vox-2.png?itok=TjzJCBsl)
“No little girl grows up wanting to be a prostitute,” declares the homepage of the No Little Girl campaign, a recently launched attempt to criminalize sex work in two of the seven Nevada counties where it’s currently legal.