Snow White Doesn't Live Here Anymore

Relationships

Taking Technology Personally? Is Your Device Out to Get You?

Gina Barreca Ph.D. on June 12, 2026

You might have a relationship with your computer, phone, television, and other tech devices, but they don't have a relationship with you. How much should you invest emotionally?

You might have a relationship with your computer, phone, television, and other tech devices, but they don't have a relationship with you. How much should you invest emotionally?

Career

Envisioning Retirement: Reinvention, Redefinition, Clarity

Gina Barreca Ph.D. on March 13, 2026

How deeply is your identity rooted in your work? Will you work once you retire?

How deeply is your identity rooted in your work? Will you work once you retire?

Not only am I not going gentle into that good night, I am not going gracefully into that late afternoon. I intend to go as gentle as a mastodon stuck in a tar pit.

Personality

What Brings Out the Secret Snob in You?

Gina Barreca Ph.D. on January 13, 2026

I'm a fabric snob. There are beer snobs, lipstick snobs, and gun snobs, to say nothing of wine snobs, pen snobs, and toilet tissue snobs.

I'm a fabric snob. There are beer snobs, lipstick snobs, and gun snobs, to say nothing of wine snobs, pen snobs, and toilet tissue snobs.

Aging

6 Ways Getting Older Might Surprise You: Think Junior High

Gina Barreca Ph.D. on January 9, 2026

Rejection does not become easier to handle. Aging can, and often does, increase a person’s anxiety and FOMO. What is our fear of death if not the biggest FOMO of them all?

Rejection does not become easier to handle. Aging can, and often does, increase a person’s anxiety and FOMO. What is our fear of death if not the biggest FOMO of them all?

Perfectionism

The Glorious Year of "Yeah, That's Not Gonna Happen"

Gina Barreca Ph.D. on December 29, 2025

Personal Perspective: How about trading in the idea of perfecting yourself for the real possibility of enjoying yourself?

Personal Perspective: How about trading in the idea of perfecting yourself for the real possibility of enjoying yourself?

Artificial Intelligence

6 Things Not to Ask AI

Gina Barreca Ph.D. on December 21, 2025

Don't ask AI whether you are smart. What can it say? It's way smarter than you. It knows what you want to hear.

Don't ask AI whether you are smart. What can it say? It's way smarter than you. It knows what you want to hear.

Relationships

8 Reasons to Call Rather Than Text

Gina Barreca Ph.D. on December 9, 2025

When you miss a person, don't you miss hearing their voice? Don't you wish you could hear them offering their unique perspectives, laughing, or listening with their own brand of silence?

When you miss a person, don't you miss hearing their voice? Don't you wish you could hear them offering their unique perspectives, laughing, or listening with their own brand of silence?

Consumer Behavior

Are You a Sucker for Impossibly Great Deals? I Fell for One

Gina Barreca Ph.D. on December 5, 2025

You've been tricked? Make noise, speak up, call attention. Help corporations, manufacturers, and firms know that they're less likely to get away with bad practices in the future.

You've been tricked? Make noise, speak up, call attention. Help corporations, manufacturers, and firms know that they're less likely to get away with bad practices in the future.

Parenting

10 Reasons I'm Glad I Didn't Have Children (and Two Regrets)

Gina Barreca Ph.D. on November 14, 2025

Not having children is fine. It’s actually a sort of secret relief for many.

Not having children is fine. It’s actually a sort of secret relief for many.

Friends

17 Ways to Lose a Friend!

Gina Barreca Ph.D. on October 30, 2025

How to end a friendship? In the middle of a conversation, say "I'm getting a text. Let me just see who this is. I need a minute." (Translation: "No, I'm not busy, what's up?")

How to end a friendship? In the middle of a conversation, say "I'm getting a text. Let me just see who this is. I need a minute." (Translation: "No, I'm not busy, what's up?")

Relationships

Men Making Breakfast: Why Do Guys Claim the Morning Meal?

Gina Barreca Ph.D. on September 29, 2025

Breakfast and love nourish you even when you’re busy doing other things; they can make every day better. And like love, breakfast is best when made at home.

Breakfast and love nourish you even when you’re busy doing other things; they can make every day better. And like love, breakfast is best when made at home.

Autism

Autism Not Only Speaks, It Answers Back

Gina Barreca Ph.D. on September 24, 2025

Call it autism; call is genius; call it difference; call it a unique vision of the world—but don't call it a disease that needs to be erased by government protocol.

Call it autism; call is genius; call it difference; call it a unique vision of the world—but don't call it a disease that needs to be erased by government protocol.

Humor

7 Reasons We Need Humor, Courage, Truth, and Guts Right Now

Gina Barreca Ph.D. on September 18, 2025

Hold onto your sense of humor: Remember that making light is a survival skill when the world seems dark.

Hold onto your sense of humor: Remember that making light is a survival skill when the world seems dark.

Education

Dear Student: Don't Ask Me These Questions or Send This Note

Gina Barreca Ph.D. on September 2, 2025

Don't send your professors an email saying, "I have the flu, causing me to vomit sporadically, but if you believe what I will miss in class is important, then I will attend."

Don't send your professors an email saying, "I have the flu, causing me to vomit sporadically, but if you believe what I will miss in class is important, then I will attend."

Relationships

Can Love Ever Arrive Too Late?

Gina Barreca Ph.D. on August 18, 2025

Love means you're in the presence of a person who'd rather be with you than with anyone else, and you feel the same way. You and another person are exactly where you want to be.

Love means you're in the presence of a person who'd rather be with you than with anyone else, and you feel the same way. You and another person are exactly where you want to be.

Dreaming

Screamless Dreams: The Emotional Semaphore of Sleep Signals

Gina Barreca Ph.D. on August 7, 2025

Is a dream a wish your heart makes, or is it a displaced display of your deepest fears and anxieties? In your sleep, are you replaying "Cinderella" or the death of Bambi's mother?

Is a dream a wish your heart makes, or is it a displaced display of your deepest fears and anxieties? In your sleep, are you replaying "Cinderella" or the death of Bambi's mother?

Anxiety

Men, Women, and Weather: Predicting the Future Can Be Foggy

Gina Barreca Ph.D. on July 23, 2025

Emotional patterns, like weather patterns, are useful to map. They help us learn where troubles originate and they pinpoint where they are most likely to land.

Emotional patterns, like weather patterns, are useful to map. They help us learn where troubles originate and they pinpoint where they are most likely to land.

Relationships

Remember When Letters Inside Envelopes Held Your Fate?

Gina Barreca Ph.D. on June 18, 2025

Seeing an envelope addressed in a familiar hand can still make our hearts beat faster. That’s worth a first-class stamp. That’s worth a trip to the mailbox.

Seeing an envelope addressed in a familiar hand can still make our hearts beat faster. That’s worth a first-class stamp. That’s worth a trip to the mailbox.

Social Media

Would You Rather Be Influential or Be an "Influencer"?

Gina Barreca Ph.D. on May 27, 2025

Do "influencers" change lives for the better or just change algorithms to get themselves more cash on sales? Writers, media experts, and public-relations mavens offer perspective.

Do "influencers" change lives for the better or just change algorithms to get themselves more cash on sales? Writers, media experts, and public-relations mavens offer perspective.