Manoush Zomorodi and Melissa Painter: The Hidden Health Costs of the Digital Age
About this episode
Manoush Zomorodi discusses the hidden health costs of the digital age with Melissa Painter, exploring how technology affects our physical and mental well-being.
Screens—all the time, everywhere, it seems. We sit at our desks facing screens, hold meetings over screens, answer email after email on them. You’ve heard about the mental health harms of screens, but what about the physical ones? Headaches, back pain, restless sleep, and rising rates of preventable disease. Manoush Zomorodi, host of the TED Radio Hour, says technology is breaking us down, and she comes to Commonwealth Club World Affairs to share her investigation into how our digital lives are changing the way we think, learn and feel. It’s a topic she explores in her new book Body Electric. From breath and eyesight to blood pressure, posture, and productivity, she says science has shown how small shifts—not “digital detoxes”—can make us healthier, and all we need is five minutes. Melissa Painter, founder and CEO of Breakthru, will be joining Manoush Zomorodi. Painter is a pioneer in human-embodied intelligence, spatial computing, and kinetic literacy, working to redefine how we interact with technology to protect human health and cognitive performance. Her work bridges the gap between emergent technology and the physical self, creating practical avenues for embodied practices…
People in this episode
Host: Manoush Zomorodi
Guest: Melissa Painter
Topics covered
- digital health
- technology impact
- mental health
- physical health
- sedentary lifestyle
- cognitive performance
Keywords
- digital age
- health costs
- screens
- mental health
- physical health
- technology
- sedentary
- cognitive performance
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: TED Radio Hour, Breakthru
Books & works: Body Electric
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