Why do we then keep on scrolling to that bottomless feed of Instagram? Is this some neurological disorder in humans that is making them spend their considerable amount of time in front of their screens and has made them a smartphone addict. An average modern user spends around two hours per day on social media and related messaging services and compulsively checks his device about eighty-five times a day. However, according to Tristian Harris, a former ‘design ethicist’ at Google, the problem isn’t that people lack willpower; it’s that “there are a thousand people on the other side of the screen whose job is to break down the self-regulation you have.” This is a big giveaway – this means a handful of tech companies have invested billions of dollars to engineer these ‘features’ of smartphone to their best just to grab our attention. This big tech world is not a shrine that is serving us for good. Netflix CEO Reed Hastings in 2017 said that ‘he isn’t concerned about Amazon or HBO but his biggest competitor is SLEEP.’ Tristian Harris describes this as ‘The Arms Race for Attention.’
There are different psychological tricks that companies are using to grab our attention and getting us sucked into our devices. Adam Alter, a business professor with a PhD from Princeton in social psychology, in his book Irresistible points out,” The people who create and refine tech, games, and interactive experiences are very good at what they do. They run thousands of tests with millions of users to learn which tweaks work and which ones don’t—which background colors, fonts, and audio tones maximize engagement and minimize frustration. As an experience evolves, it becomes an irresistible, weaponized version of the experience it once was. In 2004, Facebook was fun; in 2016, it’s addictive.” Instagram is addictive, for example, because some photos attract many likes, while others fall short. Users chase the next big hit of likes by posting one photo after another, and return to the site regularly to support their friends. Gamers play certain games for days on end because they’re driven to complete missions, and because they’ve formed strong social ties that bind them to other gamers. https://www.businessinsider.com/how-app-developers-keep-us-addicted-to-our-smartphones-2018-1
People really haven’t realized that technology is holding the pen of history right now. We’re not in control.
Tristan Harris, director and co-founder of the Center for Humane Technology
Alter in his book further says, substance addiction and behavioural addictions are very similar; “They activate the same brain regions, and they’re fueled by some of the same basic human needs: social engagement and social support, mental stimulation, and a sense of effectiveness.”
When you combine the sociology and the psychology of the whole experience it just becomes very difficult to live a mainstream life today where you completely disengage or even spend less than a few hours a day on your screens. “We require a philosophy that puts our aspirations and values once again in charge of our daily experience, all the while dethroning primal whims and the business models of Silicon Valley from their current dominance of this role.”, says Cal Newport in his book, Digital Minimalism. We cannot passively allow the wild tangle of tools, entertainments, and distractions provided by the internet age to dictate how we spend our time or how we feel.
Digitally Undigital 