I am a Professor Emeritus of Psychology and past department chair at California State University, Dominguez Hills where I have taught and done research since 1975. I am a research psychologist with specialties in multitasking, social media, generational differences, parenting, child and adolescent development, business psychology, and neuroscience and have been recognized as an international expert in the "Psychology of Technology." Over the past 30-plus years, my colleagues and I have examined reactions to technology among over 30,000 people in the United States and in 22 other countries. I have written seven books including: (1) The Distracted MInd: Ancient Brains in a High-Tech World (MIT Press, 2016); (2) The Wiley Handbook of Psychology, Technology and Society (Wiley Blackwell, 2015); (3) iDisorder: Understanding Our Obsession With Technology and Overcoming its Hold on Us (Palgrave Macmillan, 2012); (4) Rewired: Understanding the iGeneration and the Way They Learn (Palgrave Macmillan, 2010); (5) Me, MySpace and I: Parenting the Net Generation (Palgrave Macmillan, 2008); (6) TechnoStress: Coping with Technology @Work @Home @Play (John Wiley & Sons, 1998); and (7) The Mental Health Technology Bible (John Wiley & Sons, 1997). I have published numerous articles for professional journals and am a featured blogger for Psychology Today and the Huffington Post.
Over the years I have been involved in a variety of consulting activities and have been able to lend my expertise by serving on (1) the national advisory board for Pearson Education (one of the largest developers of curriculum materials), (2) the Internet Safety Technical Task Force Research Advisory Board (for the Berkman Center at Harvard University), and (3) the National Effective Parenting Initiative Advisory Board. I provide workshops for educational institutions, corporations and parent groups on the impact of technology in the workplace, in our schools and in our home. I have given keynote speeches to Fortune 500 companies in the United States and to audiences in India, Italy, Germany, Spain, Hungary, Hong Kong and Slovakia among other countries. For my research, teaching and university service, I have been fortunate to have been honored twice as one of the Outstanding Professors in the California State University system.
I love being interviewed by the media and have been fortunate to be featured extensively in television, print, and radio media and have been a commentator on The Daily Show, Good Morning America, MSNBC, Fox News, and CNN. I have been quoted in hundreds of magazines and newspapers including USA Today, New York Times, Newsweek, Time, Chicago Tribune, and Los Angeles Times. I maintain an extremely active research program and his most recent investigations include: (1) generational differences in technology use and multitasking, (2) the impact of technology use on sleep, (3) the impact of multitasking on performance, (4) virtual empathy, (5) executive functioning, (6) the impact of technology on physical and mental health and (7) the impact of anxiety on technology use.
I received my B.A. in Mathematics (Summa Cum Laude) from UCLA where I was honored as a member of Phi Beta Kappa. I earned my Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of California at San Diego and I now live near San Diego, California. I am a Baby Boomer and have raised four children, two Gen Xers one Net Generation young adult, and one iGeneration young adult and have learned firsthand that the generations truly are different in their lifestyles, attitudes, and use of technology.
I am reachable at LROSEN@CSUDH.EDU, which I capitalize because the lowercase version looks too much like 1rosen. I am a geek and always answer my e-mail immediately (a Baby Boomer characteristic!). My website is www.DrLarryRosen.com
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[NOW FOR A MORE PERSONAL VIEW OF WHAT I DO]
I have been interested in the impact of technology on people since technology entered our world in the form of large, hidden mainframe computers. My first research project in this area was 1985! Since then I have published dozens of research papers on a variety of topics including technology in the workplace, the coming impact of Y2K (yep, that long ago), video games, online dating, multitasking, MySpace, parenting, writing, and a bunch more topics. Currently, in the George Marsh Applied Cognition Laboratory at California State University, Dominguez Hills, we are examining:
• A model of how technology impacts the brain and how to take advantage of this knowledge to periodically “reset” our brains to shut down our software and hardware and improve our “humanware.”
• The impact of classroom interruptions by text message on comprehension.
• The similarities and differences in reading from paper or screen.
• The impact of media usage on physical and emotional health.
• The impact of multitasking on both short-term and long-term memory.
We are continuing to examine the world of technology, which seemingly changes daily. With the rapid advances coming into and penetrating our society we investigate how they impact people. Stay tuned for more from my lab!
[AND EVEN MORE PERSONAL]
I live in Solana Beach, California and enjoy a whole lot of things outside of my work world. I have four children ranging from 26 to 41 and I have learned much of what I know about the impact of technology from watching them grow and develop and make use of technology and media in ways unique to their generation. My three grandchildren add to the mix as I try to understand how easily they take to technology and how it overly engages their attention. My family and I make an annual gingerbread house from scratch and if you hop on my website you can see photos. I dabble in art that involves canvases with old technology and old rock 'n roll music (link to pictures are also on my website). I love musicals and plays of any kind. I love music of "nearly" any kind. I go to a zillion movies a year (well, maybe only about 60 or so) and particularly like indie films. Been to Sundance Film Festival and the Palm Springs International Film Festival many times where I see 10-12 movies that are mostly independent and may never reach the big screen. I love to cook (and eat) although my son (who cooked for 90 people at my 60th birthday party) is a much better cook. I read voraciously, but only murder mysteries, international intrigue and science fiction. I watch little television outside of MSNBC (love Rachel), CNN, and forays into comedy and dramas. During the summer I body surf and there is no way I am ever going to get up on skis at the top of a hill. Cross-country skiing is ok but I am sure that I would break at least two bones on my first downhill attempt. I love to travel and get lots of opportunities giving talks all over the world. Have spoken all across the USA and around the world although now that I am an emeritus faculty member (meaning I only teach one semester a year) I have been taking on fewer and fewer speaking engagements. I still maintain an active research program and our lab is well known for placing our students in Ph.D. programs all across the country. All in all, I can't think of a better life!
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