'Wii-hab' for patients

That's St. Mary's Medical Center's Wii-hab Program. The San Francisco hospital uses the Nintendo Wii for patients' physical rehabilitation, this CNET video reports. About 100 people have been helped in the program, which combines the Wii with other therapies. It's the brainchild of Dr. David Liu, "self-described techie" and chair of the back and trauma rehab dept., who says the games' "fun factor" helps patients forget about pain and weak spots and keep moving. Gives new meaning to the term "leveling" (usually applied to that urge to go up higher in multiplayer online games like World of Warcraft)! [See also "Videogame fitness training."]

Grownups' encroachment

Young people are increasingly uneasy about how much adults are moving in on their "technological turf," the Associated Press reports. "Long gone are the days when the average, middle-aged adult did well to simply work a computer. Now those same adults have Gmail, upload videos on YouTube, and sport the latest high-tech gadgets." The story makes it look like a conscious thing on the part of teens to stay a step ahead with the latest technologies. A big problem for teens, the AP suggests, is that their social-networking profiles necessarily have to become a "watered down version" of their online selves. If widespread, this is a sign that this latest teen "hangout" - something that all teens need, a space away from adult observation - may need to be replaced with a new one. Who knows what that will be? If you have guesses, pls comment below or in our forum over at ConnectSafely.org.