You may have heard of author Janell Burley Hofmann and her iPhone contract. Last year, on Christmas morning, she gave her then 13-year-old son a smartphone, which he quickly used to snap photos, text his friends and generally disappear into the internet.
Taken aback by his response, Hofmann sat down that night and wrote out a contract outlining rules for her son. He was restricted to using the phone during certain hours, was not allowed to bring it to school, and was required to use proper phone etiquette (among other things).
What followed was a media storm, sparking a conversation on technology and how teenagers and adults use it.
With her experience in writing about technology and how it relates to the modern family, Hofmann has published a book, entitled "iRules: What Every Tech-Healthy Family Needs to Know About Selfies, Sexting, Gaming and Growing Up." In it, she shares anecdotes about her families' experiences, as well as how restricing her son caused her to reflect on her own use of smart phones and devices.
Hofmann says that now her entire family enjoys limiting their use of technology.
"We have device free day. We’ll go to the beach, and all devices have to stay at home. And that includes the adults."

Though, opening up about her kids' relationship to the internet can be dangerous territory. 
Hofmann says that the general agreement in selecting material for the book was that if her kids were old enough to feel the story reflected only on their younger selves, then it was alright to include. Still, it can be difficult to share personal stories, especially those that are embarrassing. 
Hofmann points out, though, that her knowledge comes from being honest about her experiences.
"In no way do I think that I have all the answers for everybody else or my own family. I had to make myself look human, which I was happy to do, but you have to share some of those struggles."

 
 
 

The other iPhone contract | MarketplaceTech.org

Back to Back to the Future Part II

The annual Sundance Film festival kicked off on Monday and for the first time, the line-up will include a film made with the help of virtual reality technology or VR. The movie was made by Story Studio, a division of Oculus VR. The company has said is wants to produce original VR content as well as work with Hollywood to make more films using VR. We spoke with CEO Brendan Iribe to find out more about Oculus’ plans.

The movie in my mind: Oculus CEO Brendan Iribe on the company's new, in-house studio

Back to the Future Part II made a lot of predictions about technology we'd have in 2015, but one of the movie's big misses was the Internet. Instead of networked computers, it predicted video chat projectors and fax machines. Matt Novak, from Gizmodo's Paleofuture blog, joins us to talk about why past visions of the future are littered with print-outs.

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So far in our series about tech predicted in the 1989 movie about time travel, we've talked about sleep inducing technology, biometrics and more. Today's topic? The weather. Back to the Future Part II had a forecast for a 2015 world where a piece of wearable technology told Doc what the weather would do up to the second. Or was the weather being controlled? Matt Novak, author of Gizmodo's Paleofuture blog, joins us to talk about the scene - and about the history of weather control.

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Former Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff describes what scares him about the dark web. 

Hear the full episode at content.codebreaker.codes/ or subscribe on iTunes itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/codeb…ace/id1049341702

Former Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff describes what scares him about the dark web

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Hear the full episode at content.codebreaker.codes/ or subscribe on iTunes itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/codeb…ace/id1049341702

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Cadie Thompson on how self driving cars tell the difference between garbage bags and children -- through training.

Listen to the full Codebreaker episodes by searching for Codebreaker on iTunes, your favorite podcast app, or go to http://www.marketplace.org/topics/tech/codebreaker-podcast

Self-driving cars have to be trained like humans

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Listen to the full Codebreaker episodes by searching for Codebreaker on iTunes, your favorite podcast app, or go to http://www.marketplace.org/topics/tech/codebreaker-podcast

Matchmaking company uses facial recognition to find matches who look like their clients' exes

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Listen to the full Codebreaker episodes by searching for Codebreaker on iTunes, your favorite podcast app, or go to http://www.marketplace.org/topics/tech/codebreaker-podcast

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Ben Gilbert, Senior Correspondent at Business Insider, describes lifelike memories from his favorite virtual reality video game

Listen to the full Codebreaker episodes by searching for Codebreaker on iTunes, your favorite podcast app, or go to http://www.marketplace.org/topics/tech/codebreaker-podcast

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Dr. Patrice Renaud describes the virtual reality scenarios he uses to diagnose sex offenders - and he discusses how interactive VR videos could be a problematic as a form of treatment

Listen to the full Codebreaker episodes by searching for Codebreaker on iTunes, your favorite podcast app, or go to http://www.marketplace.org/topics/tech/codebreaker-podcast

The tricky part of using virtual reality to treat sex offenders

Neil Harbisson considers himself to be a cyborg. Born with black-and-white vision, Neil implanted an antenna in his skull that allows him to hear colors. He describes one of the difficulties he faces with his antenna - drunk women.

Listen to the full Codebreaker episodes by searching for Codebreaker on iTunes, your favorite podcast app, or go to http://www.marketplace.org/topics/tech/codebreaker-podcast

A cyborg describes the problems created by his antenna

Ben Johnson asks Google's Product Executive Aparna Chennapragada if Google Now is always listening

Listen to the full Codebreaker episodes by searching for Codebreaker on iTunes, your favorite podcast app, or go to http://www.marketplace.org/topics/tech/codebreaker-podcast

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Listen to the full Codebreaker episodes by searching for Codebreaker on iTunes, your favorite podcast app, or go to http://www.marketplace.org/topics/tech/codebreaker-podcast

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Listen to the full Codebreaker episode! Search for Codebreaker on iTunes, your favorite podcast app, or go to http://www.marketplace.org/2016/12/14/tech/codebreaker-marketplace-and-tech-insider/s02-5-world-building

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