Your Smartphone Is Not Addictive

OK, now that I’ve got your attention, please let me explain.

You have probably seen or heard literally dozens of blogs, podcasts, videos, or full-length books that describe an epidemic of smartphone addiction at all age levels, along with numerous studies, some of them scientific, documenting the rapidly accelerating crisis, which can be hazardous to both physical and mental health, to relationships, to getting things done, to focusing, and so on.

And the latest topic in self-help is: smartphone or mobile device addiction. Dozens of blogs, podcasts, e-books, audiobooks, printed books, and videos, all purporting to help you get past your addiction.

So what’s wrong with this approach?

Missing Point #1:

What's wrong, and what's missing from the sound bytes or tweets, is that the problem is NOT that your smartphone is addictive, per se, but rather, that CERTAIN TYPES OF APPS are not only addictive, but are deliberately designed to be addictive, because it is profitable.

Certain apps are carefully designed to manipulate their users, to keep them craving “likes” from other users, hijack their attention, and to keep them angry or otherwise offended. Why? Simple. There are many billions of dollars rolling in from advertising revenue and speculative investments. Revenues depend on number of users and number of clicks. Which leads to designs and algorithms designed to maximize profits--at your expense.

Don’t just take my word for it. There are several books worth reading on this subject. I found this one enlightening:

“Zucked: Waking Up to the Facebook Catastrophe” by Roger Namee.

If you happen to like audiobooks from Amazon, here's a link:

https://www.amazon.com/Zucked-Waking-Up-Facebook-Catastrophe/dp/B07K7XKF1J/

Missing Point #2:

Not all apps are created equal. Available apps are incredibly diverse, and many can be useful in a variety of ways. Some can help with the quality, breadth and speed of your work life, while others can bring new knowledge, new horizons, and new food for thought into your personal life. Many are not addictive, and attract users because they are-- well, useful.

Here are just some examples of apps that I personally find useful. Disclaimer: this is not an endorsement of any particular app, and you may very well disagree with this list. This is only to illustrate the diversity of potentially useful apps, from one person's point of view:

1. Google: Gmail, with scheduled and limited viewing.
2. Google Calendar, Google Drive, Google Chrome browser
3. Fitbit
4. Microsoft Todo and Onedrive
5. Accuweather
6. Audible and Kindle
7. Podcast apps
8. Overdrive, for library books
9. Sleep music on YouTube
10. Text messaging, used in moderation
11. YouTube, for documentary films
12. Clock, with alarms, timers, stopwatch etc.
13. Various music apps
14. The smartphone video camera, still camera, and screenshots.

That’s just me, and these are just examples. And this is not a complete list, by any means. You probably have your own list of apps that are useful for you, personally.

If you have trouble scheduling deep work, or with focus and concentration, I found this book to be helpful:

“Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World”, by Cal Newport.

If you happen to like audiobooks from Amazon, here's a link:

https://www.amazon.com/Deep-Work-Focused-Success-Distracted/dp/B0189PVAWY

Take home message:

Discussions about smartphone addiction should focus on the specific apps that are addictive, rather than generalizing about smartphones, or apps, as if they are all equal, or all harmful. There are many useful apps out there, and numerous ways to use them responsibly.