The Dark side of Apps
According to www.statista.com over 2.5 billion people are currently using smartphones and this number is estimated to be 2.87 billion by 2020.
Most Apps are designed to keep users engaged -and addicted — but understanding how this addiction happens can give us more control, which leads to a healthier use of our smartphones and Apps.
In 2013, a survey from lookout found that three out of five US smartphone users can’t go more than 60 minutes without checking their phones.
So what makes us so eager to play with our phones instead of engaging in real life?
In his book “HOOKED” Nir Eyal says:
Our brains are adapted to seek rewards that make us feel accepted, attractive, important, and included.
As a matter of fact, experts say our brains get a hit of dopamine and serotonin — the chemicals linked to happiness — when our phones beep or ring. These are the same chemicals that give drug users their ‘high’!
A National Safety Council public opinion poll shows that 82% of the American public believe that smartphone addiction exists.
In fact, nomophobia (the fear of being without your mobile device) has been proposed as a “specific phobia”, based on definitions given in the DSM-IV. Even some rehab centers offered to help the addicted to deal with their problem!
But smartphones can’t do the damage without the Apps that are designed to hook us into the 5-inch screen.
The biggest Apps on the planet such as Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, Twitter, Snapchat, etcetera, are designed to make us addicted.
- They use millions of bots on their platform, for example: academics estimate that 15% of Twitter’s user base consists of bots which impersonate real people with real-sounding names and photos, to decieve millions of users with the false impression of consensus.
- They sell our data to advertisers that use micro-targeting lies and conspiracies to sway the people most likely to be persuaded.
- They continuously develop technology that automatically test millions of variations of content — word choices, color, images — all the proven tactics in order to capture the attention and brain power of the most minds.
Need More reasons?
Our Children
Children have a strong impulse to imitate, so it’s important that you manage your own smartphone and Internet use. It’s no good asking your child to unplug at the dinner table while you’re staring at your own phone or tablet. Don’t let your own smartphone use distract from parent-child interactions.
Loneliness and depression
While it may seem that loosing yourself online will temporarily make feelings such as loneliness, depression, and boredom evaporate into thin air, it can actually make you feel even worse. A 2014 study found a correlation between high social media usage and depression and anxiety. Users, especially teens, tend to compare themselves unfavorably with their peers on social media, promoting feelings of loneliness and depression.
How to solve the problem?
There are 3 main sides to the situation :
1- The device manufacturer
2- The App developers
3- The User
1-Smartphones manufacturers
Companies like Apple, and Samsung don’t profit out of people’s addiction to Apps, they can help solve the problem by redesigning their smartphones and the user interface to reduce distractions and minimize screen time, also monitoring the App Store and using tools that maintain a more humane technology.
2-Create a culture among App Designers & Engineers
Employees are the greatest asset of tech companies, most of the engineers and tech leads want to build products that impact their societies and solve problems. No one wants to develop products that harm our kids and future generations. An awareness movement among technologists is very important.
3-Users Behavior
Users have the ultimate responsibility to take control when they learn of the risks on the society and their children.
In order to take control over our smartphones we don’t need to be as radical as to uninstall the apps. Personally I learned a few steps that minimized the influence of my smartphone on my time and life that had a significant change on my app-using habits.
- Turn off notifications
Notifications keep our phones vibrating to get us back into apps. We don’t really need to uninstall the app, just to minimize the distraction and slowly reduce that dopamine dose you’ve been taking from looking at your post’s likes and comments, or the long scrolling times spent on social media. - Clean your home screen
If you remove the social media Apps, and the unnecessary tools from your home screen you will only visit any App when you remember it, which would help you in taking control over your smartphone and eventually your time. - Keep the phone away from bed
The blue light emitted by the screens can disrupt your sleep if used within two hours of bedtime. Turn devices off and leave them in another room overnight to charge. Instead of reading eBooks on your phone or tablet at night, pick up a book. You’ll not only sleep better but research shows you’ll also remember more of what you’ve read. - Rein your fear of missing out
Accept that by limiting your smartphone use, you’re likely going to miss out on certain invitations, breaking news, or new gossip. There is so much information available on the Internet, it’s almost impossible to stay on top of everything anyway. Accepting this can be liberating and help break your reliance on technology.
The photo of the children looking down at their screens in front of ‘The Night Watch’ Rembrandt’s masterpiece has been described as a ‘metaphor for our age’ on social media.
Some apps and extensions that help you live without distraction.
RescueTime (Mac, Windows)
See how much time you spend on different apps on your desktop along with various websites.
Enable “Send + Archive”
Gmail only. This archives the email right after you send it. The email will reappear in the inbox when the person replies.
Calm
Helps create calm and stress-free time in your day and reduces anxiety. Leading popular meditation app.
Facebook Newsfeed Eradicator
Removes the Facebook newsfeed and blurs the sidebars and notifications, allowing you to use some of the more utilitarian features of Facebook without getting sucked into the newsfeed.
Distraction-Free YouTube
(Chrome) — Removes recommended videos from the side bar of youtube, making you less likely to get sucked in to unintentional content-holes. (Does not currently disable autoplay.)
