Podcasts about i xd

In this classic UX Podcast interview, we talk to Amber Case, author, researcher, designer and, at the time we talked to her, cyborg anthropologist. We chat about the ideas expressed in Amber's popular TED talk “We are all cyborgs now” before turning our attention to the notion of calm technology. More and more things are... The post #269 Calm technology with Amber Case (UXP Classic) appeared first on UX Podcast.

Tolu Garcia is the Founder of UI Narrative, which provides online learning for Product Design (UI, UX, IxD, and Research) through the podcast, mentorship, and future online courses/products. She's also a Senior Product Designer at NotDev, a small design studio in Dallas, TX, working with clients ranging from startups to large corporations like Toyota and Google. When Tolu is not designing product solutions, you can find her playing her favorite songs on her electric guitar. Her next ventures are the Product Design courses launching later this year. Are you ready to become a Product Designer or need help with your portfolio? Tolu offers services that help you impress hiring managers. You can book your spot at uinarrative.com/workwithme. Let's keep the conversation going! Send me an email, DM, or comment. Email: hello@uinarrative.com Podcast: https://www.uinarrative.com/podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/uinarrative/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/uinarrativeco YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYfh4Z_gBvd2h00cCAMxJWw LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/uinarrative/ Ramblings of a Designer podcast is bi-weekly design news and discussion podcast hosted by Laszlo Lazuer and Terri Rodriguez-Hong (@flaxenink, insta: flaxenink.design). Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/Ramblings-of-a-Designer-Podcast-2347296798835079/ Send us feedback! ramblingsofadesignerpod@gmail.com, Support us on Patreon! patreon.com/ramblingsofadesigner

Brad Frost joins us to talk about the nitty gritty of collaborating to create and manage design systems. We look back at the journey from responsive design to atomic design to design systems, and discuss the challenges with developing design systems and how important collaboration and culture are in order to succeed. We have a... The post #268 Managing design systems with Brad Frost appeared first on UX Podcast.

Are we all just putting on a show? A few years ago, Tanya Snook coined the phrase UX Theatre to describe when we are just acting like we're doing user-centred design rather than actually doing it.  We learn from Tanya how to recognise UX theatre, how to transition from just acting to actually doing.  We... The post #267 UX Theatre with Tanya Snook appeared first on UX Podcast.

From this summer, target size is going to become something we hear much more about. In this topic show, we look into what it is, what it means, why we're going to start hearing more about it, and how this will impact design work (and design discussions).  Target size was introduced as a criteria in... The post #266 Target size appeared first on UX Podcast.

Back in 2015 we were lucky enough to meet up with Whitney Hess during her summer vacation in Sweden. In this classic episode we talk to Whitney about her journey from “producer of wireframes” to coaching UX-ers. How do you design yourself? How do you give yourself permission to do your best work? “You need... The post #265 UX Coaching with Whitney Hess (UXP Classic) appeared first on UX Podcast.

In the second part of our 10th anniversary interview with Don Norman, we discuss externalities, the environmental aspects of design, ethics, systems and changing design education. This episode also includes James and Per’s reflections on the complete interview with Don. “I don’t know the answer to everything, but I do know the questions” In the... The post #264 Creating a better society with Don Norman (part 2) appeared first on UX Podcast.

In this 10th anniversary 2-part special, we are joined by Don Norman. We talk to Don about how design education needs to change so the designers of the future are better equipped to work at the crossroads of business, technology, people, society and culture. In the autumn of 2020, Don published an article based on... The post #263 Creating a better society with Don Norman (part 1) appeared first on UX Podcast.

We are joined by Kate Rutter, Kim Goodwin and Pamela Pavliscak to explore why tools, often software tools, are on everyone’s mind and how this may or may not preparing us for the demands of design in the future. Our discussion looks at how tools change, the shift from tools to methods, career paths, play... The post #262 Design confidence with Kate Rutter, Kim Goodwin and Pamela Pavliscak appeared first on UX Podcast.

Scott Berkun joins us to talk about how design makes the world. Everything in your life has been designed by someone, and this insight is a powerful way to understand the world, and everything that happens. In his book, Scott tries give designers better stories, better language, better metaphors, to explain what we do –... The post #261 Design makes the world with Scott Berkun appeared first on UX Podcast.

Episode 260 is a linkshow. Per and James discuss two articles that have grabbed their attention – we featuring articles about information architecture and following the principles that our brains expect from physical experiences, plus smart questions you should ask during job interviews. Article one is Websites are not living rooms and other lessons for... The post #260 Your Grandparents’ telephone appeared first on UX Podcast.

Design titles went a little out of control in the last few years. Let’s talk about why this is happening and what should be your title, actually? Here is what you can expect in this episode: ➡️ What on your opinion is the difference between UX and Product design? ➡️ How about UX, UXR, Ui, CX, IxD, UX writer, Webdesigner? Is it all the same? ➡️ Why do we have so many titles in the market? ➡️ What’s the most ridiculous title you’ve ever heard? ➡️ TOP 6 main takeaways —— Mentioned resources: 1️⃣ designtitle.com —— Follow us on Instagram to stay tuned for the next episodes. Feel free to DM your question if you want us to discuss it.

We are joined by Rishma Hansil to look at Japanese design culture and how this impacts digital design in Japan. Originally from Trinidad and Tobago, Rishma has been living and working in Tokyo for the past 4 years. Our conversation begins with the three different scripts that are used, and moves though the cultural significance... The post #259 Japanese design culture with Rishma Hansil appeared first on UX Podcast.

We talk Closure experiences with Joe Macleod. The lack of endings was something that Joe kept noticing again and again. There are so many examples in the digital space where there wasn’t an end, or there was an expectation of controlled or ability to end – but the possibility of closure just doesn’t exist. The... The post #258 Ends with Joe MacLeod (UXP Classic) appeared first on UX Podcast.

Old research can give new insights. Ben Kraal publishes a newsletter called “1992”. In it he takes research papers from 1992 and looks them from a modern-day perspective. Even though the research papers are almost 30 years old, we discuss why they can be very relevant and useful. We take a particular look at a... The post #257 1992 revisited with Ben Kraal appeared first on UX Podcast.

Episode 256 is a linkshow. Per and James discuss two articles that have grabbed their attention – We discuss dealing with shared and public touch screens plus the trend of publishing content as newsletters. Article one is What should we do about public touch screens in the Covid era? by Mario Noble. “So what we... The post #256 Touching screens appeared first on UX Podcast.

Over fifty years, I’ve led a lot of security projects that I thought would change the world. Many of them crashed and burned at great cost in money and reputation. There were some common threads including reliance on government claims about the market and on minimal secure systems built from scratch. This talk will describe some failures, some lessons learned the hard way, and how they paid off.

Do you trust brands? What created that trust and how is it maintained? We look at designing for trust together with content strategist Margot Bloomstein, author of Trustworthy. How does brand personality impact the user experience and how it influences our design decisions and content strategies. Our discussion starts off by looking at our trust... The post #255 Trustworthy with Margot Bloomstein appeared first on UX Podcast.

A conversation with information architects Abby Covert and Andrew Hinton about dealing with digital change and how to make future changes better. Originally Recorded at UXLx 2015, we touched on numerous subjects and challenges, including: The pace of digital change, the challenges of updating our mental models, cleaning up the underlying mess or the mess will return,... The post #254 Sorting out this mess with Abby Covert & Andrew Hinton (UXP Classic) appeared first on UX Podcast.

For years, accessibility was seen as the domain of the engineer. Fixing an accessibility would be about writing code. As a maturing industry, and as we understand people with different types of disabilities, we are starting to better understand and appreciate the role of design in accessibility. Accessibility legend Derek Featherstone joins us to talk... The post #253 The state of accessibility with Derek Featherstone appeared first on UX Podcast.

Episode 252 is a linkshow. Per and James discuss two articles that have grabbed their attention – We discuss a number of serious issues that the design industry faces and we take a look at “Stories” and their abundance. Article one is Undoing the Toxic Dogmatism of Digital Design by Lisa Angela. “I’ve talked to... The post #252 Toxic dogmatism appeared first on UX Podcast.

Designing for multiple forms of input and output is no easy task. The dramatic rise in the number of microphones in devices has pushed multimodal design to new levels of complexity. Cheryl Platz joins us to talk about designing in this multimodal world. “Every time you require one modality you’re leaving someone behind.” We talk... The post #251 Multimodal design with Cheryl Platz appeared first on UX Podcast.

Anna and the Gapminder foundation work to promote a fact-based worldview that everyone can understand. They want to help all of us move away from a dramatic worldview that is stressful, wrong and contributes to poor decision-making. “We realised people thought they knew what the world was like around them, but they were usually wrong.”... The post #250 Factfulness with Anna Rosling Rönnlund appeared first on UX Podcast.

How will your design be used in 10,000 years? When we produce designs and create technical systems we rarely think in such time-frames, yet many of today’s technology includes ideas decades old, even hundreds. Anthropologist Genevieve Bell joins us to talk about digital anthropology, cyber physical systems, and the new educational needs that have arisen.... The post #249 Digital anthropology with Genevieve Bell appeared first on UX Podcast.

“This is about people. It’s about communication”, says Ola. The ways in which organisations are structured and managed are still in many ways rooted in the history of the industrial revolution. To evolve away from this requires care, being human centred and probably a disruptive event on a social level. We talk about doing good... The post #248 Evolving organisations with Ola Berg appeared first on UX Podcast.

Cyd Harrell has been working with civic tech for over a decade, and has accumulated a wealth of knowledge and experience during that time. She’s gathered that experience and knowledge and created a friendly guide for those of us who work, or want to work with technology in the public sector. We talk about the... The post #247 Civic tech with Cyd Harrell appeared first on UX Podcast.

Episode 246 is a link show. James and Per discuss two articles that have grabbed their attention – We discuss developer experience and even “internal” developer experience plus mobile interface testing and the challenges of multi-device, multi-browser testing generally. Article one is The Brief Guide to Testing Mobile Interfaces by Andrew Yevtushenko and Marina Yalanska.... The post #246 Developer experience appeared first on UX Podcast.

We all have cognitive biases, flaws in our reasoning and judgement due to our personal beliefs and hidden pattens that we’ve subconsciously adopted over time. David Dylan Thomas joins us to discuss cognitive bias and how we can design for it and work with it. In his book, David splits the topic of bias into... The post #245 Cognitive bias with David Dylan Thomas appeared first on UX Podcast.

In this topic show dedicated to icons Per and James look at what icons are, why we are designers make use of them and what we can do to make them more understandable and accessible. Icons are everywhere; we rarely seem to create (visual) interfaces without them – but are they always understood? “Universally recognised... The post #244 Icons appeared first on UX Podcast.

Form and survey specialist and author Caroline Jarrett joins us on this classic episode of UX Podcast. Unsurprisingly we chat about surveys and forms beginning with the subject’s roots in data capture and motion studies. Amongst other things we talk about the four steps involved in answering a question and problems such as non-response error... The post #243 Answering surveys with Caroline Jarrett (UXP Classic) appeared first on UX Podcast.

What does it mean to understand something? How do we take information and create understanding? We talk to with Stephen Anderson and Karl Fast and do our best to Figure It Out. we talk about the challenge of making something understandable, different theories of cognition including embodied cognition, how some things we often consider wrong... The post #242 Figure it out with Stephen Anderson and Karl Fast appeared first on UX Podcast.

Episode 241 is a link show. James and Per discuss two articles that have grabbed their attention – this time the articles are about “privacy privilege” and the gulf between other professionals and web development plus how design systems haven’t perhaps delivered on the expectation to improve collaboration. Article one is Check your privacy privilege... The post #241 Privacy privilege appeared first on UX Podcast.

In this classic UX Podcast interview we talk to Lisa Welchman about our responsibility as designers and creators of digital products, services and information. A thought-provoking and philosophical chat about the way we work and should work. “Are you doing your best work right now?” asked Lisa at UXLx back in 2015. A call to... The post #240 Architecting the information age with Lisa Welchman (UXP Classic) appeared first on UX Podcast.

Everything is a story. Every product experience is a story. Anna Dahlström, author of Storytelling in design joins us to talk about how we can manage, choreograph and narrate that story. We discuss story structure, managing the multiverse, choose your own adventures, happy and unhappy journeys – We also ask Anna how traditional storytelling is... The post #239 Storytelling in design with Anna Dahlström appeared first on UX Podcast.

Tim Kariotis talks to us about privacy. What is privacy? How do we go about embedding privacy into design and understanding the privacy, information and even social norms around information. How do we make sure that we treat user’s data in a way that doesn’t make them uncomfortable? We talk about “that icky feeling” you... The post #238 Embedding privacy with Tim Kariotis appeared first on UX Podcast.

Mar Murube joins us to talk about the experience of interviewing vulnerable people during the Covid-19 pandemic and what we can do to help ourselves and those being interviewed. It’s not a simple matter of “just” switching to remote interviews. There’s a general increased level of anxiety in many communities. Interviews may not go as... The post #237 User research during a pandemic with Mar Murube appeared first on UX Podcast.

Episode 236 is a link show. James and Per discuss two articles that have grabbed their attention – this time the articles cover why “designisms” are a problem and how to write user research insights. Article one is Why Designisms are a problem by Josh Munn. “If we want more people to adopt design, we... The post #236 Designisms appeared first on UX Podcast.

What makes you anxious when using the internet? We talk to David Swallow about the ways in which websites can make us stressed, irritated and cause serious problems for people with panic and anxiety disorders. We also talk about possible solutions, some of the technical challenges as well as the practical ones. How to find... The post #235 Internet anxiety with David Swallow appeared first on UX Podcast.

Eva-Lotta Lamm joins us to talk about sketching, visualising and using visualisations for uncovering and exploring problems. We also talk about giving people permission to do rubbish drawings – to get over not being good enough, how to make your visualisations more robust, and how to draw straight lines. We don’t waste time trying to... The post #234 Visual thinking with Eva-Lotta Lamm appeared first on UX Podcast.

Richard Whitehand has been working hands on with usability testing for decades. He’s spent more hours than anyone we know in a usability lab testing with users. He joins us to talk about the benefits of usability testing, which are more than just discovering issues with your design. We also talk about developing a culture... The post #233 Usability testing with Richard Whitehand appeared first on UX Podcast.

Hey y'all! This is a very cool episode with an even cooler guest! Her name is Lauren aka Lolo and you should most definitely follow her on Insta @lolo_lovesyou_. Also check out her podcast on YouTube "Positive Living with Lolo" and her networking event on April 7th 2020 8pm-11pm at Arts OTA here in the Nati. This talky into your ears thing is about what we say to ourselves and what we think about others, are we fatphobic, what our personal hygiene routines are, how we feed ourselves, whether or not we know what our vaginas look like among many other things! Your time is valuable and thanks with all my heart and butt for spending it with Lolo and I XD

Amy Bucher, author of Engaged – designing for behaviour change, joins us to talk about how psychology can influence the design of digital products. Behaviour change design is the application of psychological science to the creation of products or experiences in order to influence specific behaviours in users.  We talk with Amy about the difference... The post #232 Design psychology with Amy Bucher appeared first on UX Podcast.

Designing with words – writing is designing. We talk to Andy Welfle and Michael Metts about how you can go about applying a design methodology to your words. In a conversation based around the content in their Rosenfeld Media book Writing is designing, we learn how to be intentional about content, to have the courage... The post #231 Writing is designing with Michael Metts and Andy Welfle appeared first on UX Podcast.

What is growth marketing? We were curious so we asked Swedish digital marketing expert Sara Öhman to join us and explain what is it and share some of the methods and processes she has in her toolbox. Sara is one of the leading experts in social media and digital marketing in Sweden and has taught... The post #230 Growth marketing with Sara Öhman appeared first on UX Podcast.

Six years have passed since Erika Hall published Just Enough Research. Recently she’s released an updated second edition. We took the opportunity to talk to her about her book and research. What exactly is research and how do we know we’ve done enough of it? We talk about making sure you’ve got clear business goals... The post #229 Just enough research with Erika Hall appeared first on UX Podcast.

Episode 228 is a link show. James and Per discuss two articles that have grabbed their attention – this time the articles are: The Aesthetic-Accessibility Paradox and Three Principles for Designing Machine Learning-Powered Products. Article one is The Aesthetic-Accessibility Paradox by Anthony Tseng. This controversial and misleading article argues that designs can be “too accessible”... The post #228 The Aesthetic-Accessibility Paradox appeared first on UX Podcast.

In this classic interview from 2015, we talk to Lori Cavallucci and Amy Silvers to learn more about imposter syndrome – what is it and how it effects us. Why does our branch in particular seem to suffer from it? What can we do to deal with it and can it be a good thing... The post #227 Imposter syndrome with Amy Silvers & Lori Cavallucci (UXP Classic) appeared first on UX Podcast.

How is improvisation, or improv as it’s known, be relevant to those of us working with UX? Mike Gorgone joins us for an entertaining look into how it’s useful and how you can practice it. We learn how improv can help with creative thinking, team building, meetings, but also listening and building trust. Mike shares... The post #226 Improv with Mike Gorgone appeared first on UX Podcast.

Nir Eyal joins us to discuss some of the ideas and topics covered in his two books, Hooked and Indistractable. In his work with digital ethics Per has frequently pushed back against attempts to influence people without their informed consent. And on UX Podcast we frequently discuss the dangers of oblivious design. In September, Per... The post #225 Indistractable with Nir Eyal appeared first on UX Podcast.

I need your help! When I say "what's up, ____" can you cheer? I'm making a video for my YouTube Channel. We're kicking off a new series today. The Good Life: Technology. I figured starting this sermon with a GoPro selfie sounded just about right. I'm going to say something so obvious it's almost obnoxious: We live in a digital world. And I would know, because I am an "elder millennial." Mid 30's, I'm at the upper limit of my generation. People my age have a pretty unique perspective on technology. Case in point: I remember walking across the room to change the channel on the TV. I have used a rotary phone in my life. And I have heard a record played in a non-nostalgic way. But as a millennial, technology today looks almost nothing like it did when I was a kid. o Today, high school freshmen have no memories of a world without iPhones. o Half of all children in the United States have a smartphone by age 11. o The average American now spends nearly half of their waking hours staring into a screen. o Humanity is watching 100,000 years worth of YouTube every day. Things have changed. Almost every one of us is now a cyborg. You know, cyborgs? Part human, part machine? On or in our bodies we've got medical devices and FitBits and AirPods, you name it. But beyond that, we store our memory in the cloud (our calendar, photos, notes, reminders... How many phone numbers do you remember?). Our sense of direction lives an app (if you had to drive to a specific address in Dallas, Texas right now without a phone, how many of you think you could manage it?) And craziest of all, the dopamine neurotransmitters in our brains activate every time our phone buzzes. We're neurologically linked with our devices. Part human, part machine. We're cyborgs, whether we like it or not. We live in a digital world. And for the next five weeks, we're going to talk about how to burn it all to the ground. Just kidding. In fact, just the opposite. I believe that as Christ-followers in 2019, we have a responsibility to engage our technological world. To enter into it, to transform it, to bring healing and light and life in the name of Jesus. But we will never be able to do that if our use of technology looks no different than the culture around us. As followers of Jesus, we are called to be different and we have to be healthy. So in this series, we are going to introduce 5 biblical principles for how to live a healthy life in the digital world. JOHN 17 Now, at this point you may be thinking, "Wait. Biblical principles? Wasn't the height of technology when this book was written the plow?" No. We're not looking in Scripture for information about specific technology. Instead, we're exploring principles about how to engage our world as believers - these principles were relevant back then, they're relevant now, and they'll be relevant when we all have self-driving hovercrafts. What we're about to read is a part of Jesus' prayer for his disciples right before he goes to the cross. He's talking to his Father here in prayer. John 17:13-21 "Now I am coming to you. I told them many things while I was with them in this world so they would be filled with my joy. I have given them your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. I'm not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. They do not belong to this world any more than I do. Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth. Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world. And I give myself as a holy sacrifice for them so they can be made holy by your truth. "I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one--as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me. What I want to focus in on here is verse 16. "They do not belong to the world." Now, in the gospel of John, the word "world" shows up a lot. 78 times, in fact. In Greek it's the word kosmos - world/universe/humanity In John, it generally seems to mean all people. The world is walking in darkness, the world is full of sin and selfishness and chaos. And so, when Jesus says that his followers "do not belong to the world," he means we are meant to stand apart from the darkness around us. We're meant to be distinct. The literal Greek here says that we are not "of the world." Maybe you've heard the phrase "in the world, not of the world." This is where that comes from. When I was growing up, I heard that phrase a lot. In the world, not of the world. And it always meant the same thing: We should avoid hanging out with non-Christians, we shouldn't watch R rated movies, and we should really only listen to contemporary Christian music. (This is why DC Talk and Audio Adrenaline were the soundtrack of my middle school years) Gotta hang tight, don't get corrupted, try not to sin too much, then you get to die and go to heaven. In the world, not of it. What I didn't realize is that that's not what this passage is saying at all. Yes, Christ-followers are meant to be distinct. In verse 17 Jesus prays that his disciples would be made holy by the truth. Holiness means being set apart. But this doesn't mean withdrawing from the world around us. Just the opposite. Look at verse 18. "Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world." We had the phrase wrong this whole time. It's not "in the world, not of it." It's "into the world, not of it." There's intentionality here. Mission. We're not just living "in" this dark world, we're being sent into it. Just as Jesus was. But how was Jesus sent into the world? Well, the answer is earlier in the book, in one of the Bible's most famous verses, John 3:16, and in one of the Bible's most neglected verses, John 3:17. John 3:16-17 For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. Out of incredible love, God sent Jesus into this dark world not to condemn it, but to save it. To transform it. This is what it means to be holy - set apart - while being sent into the darkness of our world. Not feeding into the sinful chaos but standing against it. Fighting against the world's brokenness, and in the process, bringing salvation and life. Or, as John often describes it, bringing light. Jesus said it this way: John 8:12 I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won't have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life. So in the gospel of John, yes, the kosmos - the world - is dark. There's corruption and chaos and sin and death. But Jesus has been sent into it as the light. And so have we. "Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world." Because we have the Holy Spirit within us, we can bring healing in the name of Jesus, we can create loving community in the midst of hatred, we can end isolation and injustice and decay. That's what we do. We are light-bringers. We don't just avoid the darkness. We transform it. Put simply, we have been sent. We are on a mission. TECHNOLOGY Ok, so how does this relate to technology? Well, as I said before, we are cyborgs. Technology is just a part of our lives now. (I'm on this stage and there are people sitting right in front of me who are watching me on the screen. Hey guys!). We don't even think about it. Technology is how we communicate. It's how we shop. It's how we remember things. The problem is that there is a very dark side to all this technology, isn't there? The world may be full of shiny, digital wonders, but it's still a place of deep darkness. Online bullying, hate-filled social media rants, addictions, the glorification of violence, pornography, exploitation, out of control consumerism... I could show you 10 apps on my phone right now that have been carefully designed to manipulate me to do things I wouldn't do on my own. It's really dark if you think about it. Jesus said his followers "do not belong to the world." So if technology can be so dark, maybe we should just abandon it. "We're just going to hang out over here by ourselves, the world. You guys can keep your Facebooks and your Googles and your Geocities.com." But remember the second half of what Jesus is praying in John 17. We are not of this world, but we are sent into it. Technology can be dark, but we are light bringers. And even if we walked away, the rest of our world sure wouldn't. God loves this dark world and wants to transform it - to save it. And we are his instruments to do that. Which is why I don't think we need to abandon technology at all. As Christ followers, we need to move into it. To bring light. To heal. God did not abandon our world to darkness, and neither should we. So, here is the first (and probably most important) biblical principle for living a healthy life in the digital world - to remember this: Principle 1: You are on a mission. You're not of this world, but you are sent into it. PRACTICAL Alright, so what does this mean, practically? Well, first of all, if we are light bringers, then we'd better be positive we are set apart from the darkness. If we're not withdrawing from technology, then we'd better be healthy when we use it. This is what we're going to talk about over the next few weeks. Next week, we'll talk about our need to think long and hard about who is defining our identity. The week after that, we'll talk about breaking free from the chains of addictive behavior the Internet has designed to wrap around us. The week after that we'll talk about being very intentional about who we're letting influence us and what we're filling our minds with. And then in the last week of the series we'll talk about re-learning how to have face to face relationships. It's going to be a great series. And we've got some awesome stuff available for you. If you go to gracechurch.us/thegoodlife we've got resources, videos, app suggestions, etc. We're also having a Parents Technology Forum at our Fishers campus on December 3. And we're going to do something together as a church on Saturday, November 23. We're going to have a No Screen Saturday Challenge. All of us - kids to adults - are going to try spending the whole day without using any screens. More info on that soon. ON A MISSION So we're going to talk about living healthy lives in a digital world. All of that is great. But today, we have to talk about the most fundamental truth of them all: that we are on a mission in this digital world. And so here's what I want to do to make all of this really practical for you. I want to introduce an exercise you can do to think clearly about anything technological in your life. A question you ask yourself to evaluate where your heart is. You ready? Here's the question: Since I am a Christ-follower, why do I _____? And then you fill that blank in with whatever you're thinking about. o Since I am a Christ-follower, why do I use Twitter? o Since I am a Christ-follower, why do I watch this show on Netflix? o Since I am a Christ-follower, why do I have my email notifications turned on all the time? What this does is force you to think intentionally about how and why you're using technology. Not just whether you've set healthy limits, but why you're even using it in the first place. Since I am a Christ-follower, why do I ____? Another question you can ask is "How am I bringing the light of Jesus into this?" Here's why I like these types of questions. Sometimes the answers will be neutral. "I use Google Maps because it helps me get around." There's nothing spiritual about it. Sometimes you'll have a hard time answering the question. "Since I'm a follower of Jesus, why am I watching this movie?... Uh, well, I don't know that a follower of Jesus would watch this movie... Uh oh." Or "I'm watching this movie so I can relate to my co-workers and share my faith with them... Uh... but I don't ever talk to them." You see what I mean? It exposes our motivations. But where this question gets really cool is when we start to see possibilities. New ideas for ways to spread light and life into the world. For example. Since I am a Christ-follower, why do I use Instagram? As an person living in 2019 America, you might just say, if you're being honest, "I use Instagram because I want people to like me, or I need validation..." Ah, but as a Christ-follower, your validation is in your identity as a child of God. In theory, that should free you up to use Instagram for a different reason. Imagine if you were to answer the question this way: Since I am a Christ-follower, I use Instagram to help my friends understand they are loved. If that was your purpose, you mission, with Instagram, how much would that change how you use it? You could post about other people on your feed and talk about how awesome they are, just to encourage them. You could go beyond just commenting nice things ("omg gorgeous") and actually direct message them to tell them how much you appreciate them. "Hey, I wanted you to know, I think you're awesome, and you're really brave for taking that new job." You could scroll through your feed and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you someone who needs prayer, and then pray for them. And then let them know you're praying for them. Would that be weird? Would that be different? Yes! But John 17: we are not of this world. Since I am a Christ follower, why do I use Instagram? These are just ideas, but you get what I'm saying, right? I'm not saying we need to talk more about being followers of Jesus. I'm not saying we need to post more pictures of our morning devotions. I'm saying we need to be the hands and feet of Jesus in the way we use technology. Remember: You are on a mission. A mission to bring the light of Christ into this world. When we start thinking this way about technology and social media, it is the first step in changing our focus from ourselves to the needs of a broken world. Since I am a Christ-follower, why do I _____? This week, I encourage you to ask yourself this question a lot. Ask it about the apps on your phone, ask it about the things you watch, ask it about Facebook and Uber and your car and TikTok and your phone and Amazon... You are on a mission. Jesus prayed, "Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world." He was praying about you and me. Because remember, we're not of this world. Which makes us the perfect people to transform it.