"Before I've poured my first morning coffee I've already watched the lives of strangers unfold on Instagram, checked the headlines, responded to texts, swiped through some matches on a dating app, and refreshed my emails, twice. I check Apple Maps for my quickest route to work. I've usually left it too late to get the bus, so I rent a Lime bike using the app."
"Since the first iPhone in 2007, smartphones have become indispensable to modern life, with the average person in the UK spending four hours and 20 minutes online per day. Social media provides frictionless access to an infinite universe of mostly free digital drugs, says Anna Lembke, author of Dopamine Nation. And the algorithm tailors the experience for each unique brain, making it very reinforcing, while also injecting just enough novelty in the infinite scroll to overcome boredom and tolerance."
A near-robbery unfolded while attention remained fixed on a phone, illustrating how persistent device use can render people oblivious to immediate danger. Daily routines are saturated with apps and platforms from morning to night: social feeds, navigation, payments, messaging, bike rentals, streaming and shopping. Algorithms personalize content, supplying novel stimuli that reinforce engagement and foster tolerance, requiring increasing use for the same effect. Constant contactability erodes personal boundaries and shortens attention spans. Prolonged screen time correlates with worsening mood and mental-health risks, and the engineered frictionlessness of modern services amplifies compulsive behavior.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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