Thinking gifts through

The advent of ‘silly season’ marks the start of rampant gift-giving.

Although gift-giving in itself is an act of generosity and thoughtfulness, we ought to take more time to think about the gifts we share this festive season. Not only in the sense of finding something special and planned for each person we share a gift with, but also in the sense of how this gift will benefit this person (and not harm them in anyway).

Children are the greatest beneficiaries of gifts at this time of the year. Take the time to think about how gifts like technology might have an adverse effect on their development (exit generosity).

Technology like video games has been proved time and again to increase rates of violence and aggression. In one of America’s worst high school shoot outs, the attacker had never used a gun until the day of his attack.

Yet, he was able to shoot 15 class mates in the head and chest accurately because of his extensive practise via video games. Even less violent technology has been proved to negatively affect dopamine levels, where excessive use can lead to higher rates of boredom, depression and anxiety when engaging in other activities.