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The Health-Care Edition Monday, July 18, 2022

How To Protect Your Privacy When Using Mental Health Care Apps, by Shauneen Miranda, NPR

With online mental health services providing a convenient alternative to traditional methods of in-person therapy for many people, NPR asked digital privacy experts to weigh in on what you should know about protecting your privacy when using these types of platforms.

The privacy tips here can apply to more than just online therapy services, but experts say these steps can help with privacy related to therapy apps as well.

The High Price We Pay For Social Media, by Tim Harford

Ernest Hemingway once declared that “what is moral is what you feel good after and what is immoral is what you feel bad after”. I’m not sure if that stands up to philosophical scrutiny, but I do think it’s worth asking ourselves how often we feel bad after spending time on social media. I usually feel disheartened and a little self-loathing after doomscrolling on Twitter in a way that I never feel after reading a book or a decent magazine.

That’s the experience of a middle-aged man on Twitter. What about the experience of a teenage girl on Instagram? A few months ago the psychologist Jonathan Haidt published an essay in The Atlantic arguing that Instagram was toxic to the mental health of adolescent girls. It is, after all, “a platform that girls use to post photographs of themselves and await the public judgments of others”.

Stuff

Apple Touts Rugged And Water Resistant iPhone 13 In New Ads, by William Gallagher, AppleInsider

Apple has released two new iPhone 13 adverts championing the device's durability, and splash resistance, and advising people to "relax - it's an iPhone."

New App Store Section Reveals 15 Games Leaving Apple Arcade Soon, by Tim Hardwick, MacRumors

Apple doesn’t explain what happens to the games that are exiting the service, leaving players unsure about what will happen to their save data. Whether the games will transition to a premium or free release, or be delisted altogether, is also unclear.

ESR HaloLock Wallet Stand Hands-on: Multi-card Wallet And Adjustable Stand For The iPhone, by Matthew Miller, ZDNet

ESR's new and very affordable HaloLock Wallet Stand provides three slots for cards, one that has a clear window perfect for a driver's license, and also serves as an adjustable kickstand.

Baseus 8-in-1 USB C Hub For MacBook Review: The Ultimate Dongle, by Jaclyn Kilani, iMore

This product has served me very well with little to no issues, so I'll lay out my experience with the Baseus 8-in-1 Hub and what you can expect if you purchase this accessory.

Notes

Apple Brompton Road Store To Open In London's Knightsbridge On July 28, by Tim Hardwick, MacRumors

Situated just a few doors down from the world-famous Harrods department store and other luxury shopping outlets, Apple Brompton Road was made possible thanks to a deal Apple made in 2019 with Chelsfield, the property asset manager overseeing a makeover of The Knightsbridge Estate, to secure retail lettings opposite Harvey Nichols.

How Apple Is Laying A Foundation For A Smarter, More Connected Future, by Dan Moren, Macworld

Apple’s public betas are an opportunity for all of us—not just developers prepping apps—to get a peek into the future of the company’s software. Granted, we’re not transporting ourselves to a far-off year where no doubt we’ll all be wearing Apple-branded headsets and riding in Apple cars—this time travel jaunt is only a matter of months. But it’s still a chance to see what new capabilities we’ll be able to take advantage of come the fall.

If we zoom out a bit, though, we can also see the hallmarks of places where Apple is investing in the future, or—to use the classic adage that has become an Apple operating principle—skating to where the puck will be. Because Apple has a tendency to lay the groundwork for major changes years in advance, knowing it’s going to take some time for the rest of the world to catch up.

Bottom of the Page

Once upon a time, I enjoyed sitting in an outdoor food court, drinking coffee, and just watching time goes by while listening to an audiobook or a favorite podcast. When I were out and about, I typically will search for food courts that aren’t crowded. Of course, because these food courts didn’t have too many customers, they usually don’t survive for long. So I always have to find new places.

Once upon a time, I enjoyed just slow-walking in a museum or an art gallery, looking at stuff. I would take an afternoon ‘vacation-half-day’ from work, and just roam the halls of museums and galleries. Apparently, the tourists here in Singapore aren’t attracted to such activities, as there are just a few people with me. They are probably in shopping malls or casinos or the zoo.

Once upon a time, I enjoyed walking through a nearby park, hoping to stumble upon some monkeys and otters. I will not go during ‘peak’ hours with runners and joggers and walkers; rather, weekends between late mornings and the noon was my usual hours. Most people have already left when the sun rises higher in the sky and the day gets hotter.

Singapore is a dense and noisy city. There isn’t many places when you don’t find people. These were my usual escapes from people.

Of course, probably like so many people, I didn’t have these escapes since early 2020. Other than with family and at work, I simply didn’t have much of an appetite to go anywhere else.

There were a lot of changes since March 2020 here in Singapore. We started with no-masks-unless-sick, and ended up with masks everywhere. We were in lockdown (mostly) for a few months, and then we need to bring our smartphones or bluetooth tokens to go anywhere. Social group sizes limits went up and down. There were changes almost every month. But now that we are at the tail-end (I hope) of these strange times, we seemed to be continuously stuck with one rule: mandatory masks indoors. I have no idea when this final rule will be dropped; or whether there are u-turns still ahead.

2020, 2021, and 2022 all felt different. Of course I have no desires to go back to earlier days. But I also wish we can move forward soon.

Maybe I can get back my appetite to go to museums and galleries and parks, not because I want to escape the crowds, but because I want to get some crowds back into my life.

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Thanks for reading.