Working at the intersection of tech, health and everyday life. Co-founder @building_h. I’m @stephenjdowns on Threads.
Joined May 2009
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Pinned Tweet
23 Sep 2022
Today is the 60th anniversary of The Jetsons and I have a piece out in @Slate's @FutureTenseNow on how that iconic cartoon sitcom has shaped our lives, for better and for worse. slate.com/technology/2022/09…
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2 Apr 2025
Please vote for our #SOCAPOpen session! Well be discussing how the ‘H” of health fits into ESG and socially responsible investing. Shouldn’t companies whose products promote health be prioritized over companies whose don’t? Vote here: bit.ly/41ZR97W
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Steve Downs retweeted
16 Oct 2024
Over the next few days we'll be sharing some of the key quotes and takeaways from the 2024 #BuildingHIndex, starting with this one:
buildingh.org/index/2024
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Steve Downs retweeted
16 Oct 2024
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Steve Downs retweeted
16 Oct 2024
Everyday products ranked for health impact: Which ones are harming you and which are making you healthier? 🚴🏡🥗 news-medical.net/news/202410… #healthimpact #consumerhealth #healthyliving #publichealth #health #corporateresponsibility @building_h @phidotorg
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Steve Downs retweeted
15 Oct 2024
Head over to buildingh.org/index/2024 to see how different products affect five health behaviors of their users: eating, physical activity, sleep, social engagement and time spent outdoors. #buildinghindex
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Steve Downs retweeted
14 Oct 2024
Rating >75 companies across 4 sectors for promoting health
buildingh.org/index/2024
Best scores: bicycle companies
Worst scores: Netflix, Hulu, Grubhub, DoorDash, Apple TV
@building_h @tgoetz @stephenjdowns
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14 Oct 2024
We created the Building H Index to focus attention on an important idea: that the products and services of everyday life have profound effects on people’s health by shaping their health behaviors.
14 Oct 2024
We’ve just released the 2024 #BuildingHIndex, which rates and ranks more than 75 popular products from Netflix, Uber, Apple, Chick-fil-A and more, on how they influence the health of their users. See the rankings at buildingh.org/index/2024 #BuildingHIndex
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14 Oct 2024
As AI and other new technologies emerge, they will reshape our daily routines and as our work demonstrates, if we don’t intentionally design them to produce health — they won’t.
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14 Oct 2024
Making everyday life healthy by design requires grappling with where we are and establishing accountability going forward. That’s why we’re highlighting the effects that so many of today’s popular products and services have on the health behaviors of their users.
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Steve Downs retweeted
11 Oct 2024
Which products actually promote better sleep? And which seem to treat sleep like the competition? #BuildingHIndex
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Steve Downs retweeted
10 Oct 2024
spoiler alert: it's not just food companies that can affect our diets...
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9 Oct 2024
Really excited for this to drop on Monday!
9 Oct 2024
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Steve Downs retweeted
16 Nov 2023
We’re excited by our work to assess how popular products are affecting our health. Join us by signing up for a short scoring exercise: instagram.com/reel/CztpbUwrB…
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Steve Downs retweeted
15 Nov 2023
.@ARPA_H asked for ideas on its new ELSI initiative. We have a few, looking at biomedical innovation and health from a systems perspective: medium.com/building-h/respon…
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13 Nov 2023
Such a pleasure and a privilege to with the team on this project!
13 Nov 2023
Responding to a prompt from @cliffkuang, we worked with a team of students from @uwmhcid, who created a speculative design that answers the question “what if our smartphones were designed for human connection?” buildingh.org/nos-design
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Steve Downs retweeted
13 Nov 2023
The most popular story from last week's newsletter was this piece, from @NPR's @FoodieScience on nature's Ozempic: npr.org/sections/health-shot…
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12 Oct 2023
Excited to release this work today at #BCC2023. The survey suggests something of a paradox -- and I'm curious to hear thoughts on what might be going on...
12 Oct 2023
Could social media make people feel more lonely - but also more connected to others? Yes to both — or at least that’s what our new survey suggests. #BCC2023 medium.com/building-h/the-co…
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