Know how technology is shaping your mind.
Take free assessments built by UC Berkeley researchers. See how you score (and compare with others) on digital dependence, attention span, and wellbeing measures, and then get actionable recommendations.
- 850UC Berkeley students enrolled in our digital detox study
- 100,000+students and parents reached through our partner Project Reboot
Our core thesis.
We believe people should have the power to be the primary driver of their own lives. But a defining divide is now forming, between those who command their technology and those who are commanded by it. Our mission is to help as many people as possible use these ever-advancing tools with intention.
We raised an entire generation on smartphones and social media and are still undoing the damage. Now layer in AI, the great accelerant, which will amplify our capabilities, but can also make us more distracted and more dependent. These technologies are diffusing fast, but our understanding of their effect on our minds, our relationships, and our conscious experience is years behind. We cannot wait until our habits are entrenched to figure out how to build better ones.
We believe minds and machines can work together in extremely complimentary ways that help people think more clearly, connect more deeply, and live with greater agency and purpose. And luckily, the mindsets and habits that support that future can also be taught.
The Mind, Machine, and Meaning Institute exists to build the science that shows us how and to put that knowledge within everyone’s reach.
We study the intersection of 3Ms.
-
Mind
How is technology shaping our habits of mind?
-
Machine
How do we ensure technology works for us (as opposed to against us)?
-
Meaning
How do we find purpose as machines become more capable?
Our approach
Measure. Test. Share.
Measure
Free assessments, starting with the Digital Dependence Index (DDI), show people where they stand, and give us data on which questions and interventions to test.
Test
We test evidence-based interventions with real people to find out what strategies actually work to reduce digital dependence, improve wellbeing, and more.
Share
We publish what we find openly, so schools, families, workplaces, and other researchers can act on it and build on it. We also do public education ourselves!
What we learn from the public response shapes what we measure next.
Get access to research-grade assessments.
See how you compare with others and get personalized suggestions for improvement. First results in about 3 minutes,
Start here
Digital Dependence Index
What is your current relatonship with your phone and digital technology? Our flagship measure of digital dependence.
14 additional dimensions you can measure
Wellbeing
- Stress
- Mood
- Anxiety
- Sleep
- Loneliness
- Meaning
- Life satisfaction
- Happiness
- Mindfulness
- Social connection
Cognitive performance
- Sustained attention
- Attention control
- Processing speed
- Reasoning
Help build the evidence base.
We're building the tools to measure digital dependence and overall cognitive health, conducting studies to test what helps, and going directly to the public to share results and practical strategies. If you'd like to fund this work or partner with us, we'd love to have a conversation.
Know yourself as well as your phone does.
Free assessments built by UC Berkeley researchers. See where you stand, how you compare, and what to start or stop doing.
Every answer you share helps us do more open science on how technology shapes the mind. Free tools for you, better solutions for everyone. We hope it's a more than fair trade.
A checkup for your mind.
Most of us go to the doctor for a physical every year (or at least every few), but almost none of us do a checkup on our minds. Well, you can't improve what you don't measure, and our focus, mood, and technology habits change all the time. We believe science should be open, so we made research-grade assessments free for everyone.
How it works
Create a free account
Save your results, retake assessments, and build your personal profile over time.
Start with the Digital Dependence Index (DDI)
About 3 minutes.
Go deeper
Get additional metrics on your wellbeing and cognitive performance.
Your dashboard
Create a free account to take the DDI, or log in to see your results and retake assessments.
You're signed in. Open your dashboard to see your results and take the next assessment.
Questions and answers
A safe place to answer honestly.
Your answers are private. We never sell your data, we never share your individual results, and you can delete your data at any time.
Privacy and your data
No. We never sell your data, and we never share your individual results with anyone. We don't run ads, and we never will.
Only you can see your individual results. Our research team works with anonymized data, with your name and email removed, and reports findings only as group averages.
In a secured database, with access limited to our research team. We collect only what we need to create your report and, if you agree, to support our research.
Yes. You can delete your account and all of your data at any time, or email info@mmminstitute.org and we will do it for you.
Yes, with your consent, and we hope you'll join. That's the trade: the tools are free, and your anonymized answers help us study how technology shapes the mind, for everyone's benefit. When you sign up, we'll ask you to take part. You can say no, or change your mind later, and still use the tools. Read the full consent form.
The science
The Mind, Machine, and Meaning Institute, founded by UC Berkeley faculty. Our team includes cognitive neuroscientists, cognitive scientists, and decision scientists who study attention, wellbeing, and how people use technology.
The wellbeing check-in and cognitive tasks use established, peer-reviewed instruments: the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), PHQ-8, GAD-7, UCLA Loneliness Scale, Meaning in Life Questionnaire, Satisfaction With Life Scale, Subjective Happiness Scale, Mindful Attention Awareness Scale, the Brief Psychomotor Vigilance Test (PVT-B), Stroop Squared, Pattern Comparison, and Number Series, plus a few original items on sleep and social connection. The Digital Dependence Index (DDI) was developed by our team, and its validation paper is in preparation.
Your report compares your scores with everyone who has taken the same assessment here. For some scales, such as the PSS-10, we also show how you compare with published population norms, rather than labeling scores low, moderate, or high.
No. These are educational tools and cannot diagnose any condition. If you are struggling, please talk with a doctor or mental health professional. If you are in crisis, call or text 988 in the U.S., or contact your local emergency services.
Using the assessments
Yes. Every assessment and every report is free. We believe the tools to understand your own mind should be open to everyone.
The Digital Dependence Index takes about 3 to 4 minutes. The wellbeing check-in and the cognitive tasks take about 10 to 15 minutes each.
Yes. We will invite you back about twice a year, like a checkup, so you can see what is improving and what is slipping.
Email info@mmminstitute.org. A member of our research team will get back to you.
Many have rallied about the problem. We actually test the solutions.
What happens when students change their relationship with their phones?
In the first round of our intervention with UC Berkeley students, preliminary results show lower depression, anxiety, stress, and loneliness, and higher attention span, life satisfaction, fluid intelligence, and mindfulness. Each improvement tracked with how much a student's digital dependence decreased. This semester's 5-week intervention adds a control group, with results expected later this fall.
Preliminary results. Peer-reviewed findings to follow.
850 UC Berkeley students enrolled across two semesters of our intervention study
In the news
Digital detox: UC Berkeley students ditch phones for in-person connection
NBC Bay Area, April 24, 2026
Read the article
Losing Our Minds: a debate with a cognitive scientist and an AI CEO
SXSW, March 15, 2026 · Dr. Sahar Yousef and Greg Shove
Photo: Zena Barakat
The Digital Dependence Index (DDI)
The DDI measures the main drivers of digital dependence.
Validation paper in preparation.
Take the DDIWhat's next
Our mission is to help people stay in command of their minds in the age of AI
Our origin story.
For the last eight years, we travelled around the world preaching the science of productivity and performance at conferences, to executives, and in UC Berkeley business school classrooms. We loved it (and still do), but when AI arrived on top of a smartphone addiction epidemic, the stakes got too high for us to keep doing this one room at a time. We knew humans were going to have to fight incredibly hard to keep control of their minds so we went back to our roots as scientists. We built a course at UC Berkeley, called “Mind, Machine, and Meaning: Living Intentionally in the Digital Age” and our students joined the battle and helped us turn the class into the largest comprehensive digital detox study ever conducted. The MMM Institute exists to spread this work to the people who need this information the most.
Founders
Dr. Sahar Yousef
Executive Director
Dr. Sahar Yousef is a cognitive neuroscientist and faculty at UC Berkeley in both Cognitive Science and the Haas School of Business. She is considered one of the world's leading experts on cognitive training, digital dependence, and the science of productivity.
She teaches “The Science of Productivity and Performance” and “Mind, Machine, and Meaning: Living Intentionally in the Digital Age,” the course behind the institute's flagship study. She has given more than 850 keynotes to audiences in more than 50 countries, including the U.S. Congress, and Thinkers50 named her one of 30 management thinkers to watch. Her work has been featured in Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, CNBC, and The New York Times.
Lucas Miller
Director of AI and Learning Science
Lucas Miller is a cognitive scientist, author, and faculty at UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business, where he teaches “The Science of Productivity and Performance” and “The Augmented Executive,” one of the school's leading AI courses for executives.
His current research informs how to protect and augment human learning and cognition in the age of AI. He sees AI as a cognitive partner, a way to overcome the brain's limits and free up bandwidth for what matters most. He is the author of Beyond Brilliance: The Blueprint for Learning Anything, and has spent a decade translating science into practical tools used by students, executives, and organizations.
Team
Kyle LaFollette, PhD
Director of Data and Analytics
Kyle LaFollette is a principal researcher at the Roman Family Center for Decision Research at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. His research asks how much control people have over the expectations, emotions, and beliefs that shape their judgments and decisions, using behavioral experiments and computational models such as diffusion decision models and reinforcement learning. He is the creator of FlexDDM, an open toolbox for diffusion decision modeling.
Dawson Kelly
Head of Fundraising and Youth Advocacy
Dawson Kelly grew up inside the experiment. He got his first iPad at nine and learned self-worth through likes and streaks. At UC Berkeley, he taught "Becoming Tech Intentional", a course that cut students' screen time by an average of 3 hours a day, then watched most of them slide back once it ended. That taught him you can't willpower your way out of a machine built to exploit your brain. It takes culture.
As Head of Youth Advocacy for Project Reboot, he leads a network of clubs on 18 college and 20 high school campuses where students make media for their own generation. At the MMM Institute, he leads fundraising and youth advocacy.
Help build the evidence base.
We're looking for funders, schools, and research partners (not necessarily in that order).
What your support builds
Better measures.
Validated tools that show people where they stand, starting with the Digital Dependence Index (DDI), a personal profile for every family, and a version for adolescents that K-12 schools can trust.
Proven solutions.
Controlled studies of what actually helps, from school programs with our partner Project Reboot to brain imaging that shows what changes when digital dependence is reduced.
Public education.
Free tools and curricula that reach people where they are: in schools, online, and on the platforms they already use.
Funders can support any part of this work, or all of it.
Our partners
The Attention Initiative
Policy partner
The Attention Initiative helps make sure money from recent tech settlements goes to public awareness and education that works for young people, for the next decade and beyond. We're its primary research partner.
Project Reboot
School programs partner
Founded by UC Berkeley alumnus Dino Ambrosi, Project Reboot has reached more than 100,000 students and parents at 80+ schools with curriculum designed and tested at UC Berkeley. Together, we're planning a controlled study of its school programs.
Start a conversation.
Tell us a little about you and what you're most interested in.
Get in touch.
Questions about the assessments, our research, press, or working with us? Send a note and someone from our team will get back to you.
Or email us directly at info@mmminstitute.org.
Privacy and Data Use
Loading…
Consent to participate in research
When you create an account, we ask whether you want to take part. Read the full consent form.
Terms of Use
The rules for using this site and its assessments. Read the Terms of Use.
Contact
Questions? Email info@mmminstitute.org.