Wake Up Call
IT’S TEMPTING TO THINK OF smartphones as just one more technology in a long list of technologies that have freaked people out.
They’re different in a lot of good ways, obviously. But smartphones also talk back at us. They disturb us when we’re working. They demand our attention and reward us when we give it to them. What’s more, they give us access to the entire internet. And, unlike previous technologies, we keep them near us at all times.
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| Steve Jobs |
Perhaps this is part of the reason that Steve Jobs restricted his own children’s access to his company’s products.
The same is true for Microsoft founder Bill Gates, who didn’t give his kids phones until they were fourteen.
Which means these tech C.E.O.s seem to know something that the rest of us don’t.
An increasing number of mental health experts are concluding that this “something” is the risk of addiction.
The point is that many of the same feel-good brain chemicals and reward loops that drive addictions are also released when we check our phones.
The point is also that revolutionary technologies don’t just “come along,” they’re designed.
Phone and app companies aware of their products’ neurological effects (Definition: Effects to the nervous system especially regarding structure, functions, and abnormalities Source: GreenFacts ), but they pack their products with features that will trigger (start) them—with the specific goal of getting us to spend as much time. In industry terms, this is called “user engagement ( Engaged users are users who were in any way active on the Phone and App in a given period)” Why do companies care so much about engagement? Because it’s how they make money.
This is not to suggest that tech companies are out to deliberately hurt people and it’s important to note that the features that make smartphones potentially problematic are the same features that make them easy to use and fun.
So many tech executives suggest that they don’t think the benefits always overshadow the risks—to the point that they feel the need to protect their families from the devices that they create.
The decision is yours,
thanks for reading as always,
ANKURJIT KALITA
YOU CAN READ THIS BLOG ON MY FREE ANDROID APPLICATION
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