DISTRACT seminar w/ Ulrik Lyngs on 30 October

DISTRACT is hosting a public seminar on Zoom on 30 October at 11-12. Here, visitor Ulrik Lyngs, PhD in computer science, will present the following:

Self-Control in Cyberspace: Examining Tools of Resistance in the Battle for Online Attention

Instant access to information, entertainment, and social connection enabled by smartphones and computers provides innumerable benefits, but also unprecedented opportunity for distraction. However, while technology companies have devoted enormous resources to keeping users 'hooked' on digital systems, little is known about how designers can best support people in regaining control over their digital device use. On online stores for apps and browser extensions, however, a market niche has emerged for 'digital self-control tools' where millions of people experiment with tools that, e.g., limit time spent in specific apps or remove distracting website elements. In this talk, I discuss how this landscape, in combination with psychological research on the mechanics of self-control, can be used as a rich resource for understanding how to help people control their allocation of time and attention in digital spaces.

Ulrik Lyngs recently defended his DPhil (PhD) thesis in Computer Science from the University of Oxford, and has an interdisciplinary background with an MA in the Study of Religion and Psychology from the University of Aarhus and an MSc in Cognitive and Evolutionary Anthropology from the University of Oxford. His research on challenges of self-regulation in relation to digital device use received the EPSRC (UK research council) Doctoral Prize. Moreover, his collaboration with the Oxford Counselling Service on the 'Reducing Digital Distraction' workshop, which supports students who struggle with digital self-control, was recognised at the MPLS Impact Awards. Ulrik previously worked in London as a producer for the world's largest philosophy and music festival, HowTheLightGetsIn.

The link for the Zoom meeting is: https://ucph-ku.zoom.us/j/61137958939.