Who is your dealer?
Having your own best interests at heart
I worry a bit when I hear people talking so flippantly about how much they look at their phones. I honestly don't think most people realise that they are actually addicted, and those who do also seem to have it all wrong...
There once was a compulsive drug user that just couldn't help himself, and this once-sporadic pastime was quickly becoming a full-blown habit. One sunny morning, feeling particularly happy and high on life, he decided "no more, I'm done with this" - so, not trusting his future self one bit, he messaged his drug dealer to say "Hey man, I want to get better, so please delete my number and ignore any calls and messages from me".
In another part of town, there was a gambling addict. It was on this same, sunny day that she decided to make a change. Enough was enough. She went to the casino that had lured her in. night after night, and spoke with the manager. She asked him to never again let her in to the casino. It was time that she tackled this addiction once and for all.
This was clearly a day for transformation, because in another part of that same town sat a food addict. As the sun shone down and cast gorgeous light on this new day, he was finally fed up. He contacted all of the junk food stores in his area and asked them to never ever serve him again.
I want to be careful here, because addiction is absolutely no laughing matter, nor am I experienced in treating it - but it is very hard to imagine that any one of these scenarios would ever happen, nor would they be particularly effective even if they actually did work. Not only is each provider dependent on these people coming back time and time again, but there are always plenty of other providers out there. The drug user would be able to find someone else to get his drugs from. The gambler would find another casino to give their money to. The food addict would find another restaurant or shop to abate his hunger.
Just this morning (it is a beautiful day here too, by the way) I heard an advert for a new podcast on which the guest gave his problem statement to the host:
"Our biggest challenge is finding a time when we can all go offline and be present together. It would be amazing if there was an app that would help us coordinate that, so that we could all go offline and be with one another 100% - can you fix that for me?"
This, in my eyes, is really not very different from my three hypothetical scenarios up above. Our phones and the apps on them want and need our attention. The apps that we have allowed into our lives that are guilty of asking for the most of our attention are, in most cases, the free ones; so it makes perfect sense that they need that attention. More attention = more money; that's literally the business model.
So we can get as angry as we want at the companies that make the apps that get us addicted, but it's not going to change. They would be shooting themselves in the wallet if they tried to help us in this way. Just like the dealer that needs to sell their stash. Just like the casino that needs to take all of your money. Just like the restaurant that needs you to stuff your face with their cheap, fatty, delicious food.
In each of the other three addictions, we have accepted and admitted that these people need real help, and fortunately there are places for people to go to get that help. Phone addiction is a whole new beast that we're only just starting to understand is as problematic as it is. I also get the feeling that it is massively under-diagnosed.
Self-policing seems like the obvious choice, but if we're truly talking about actual addiction, that's easier said than done. We are putting so much pressure on technology to solve the problems that technology introduces. I’ve heard (from more than one person) that it is remarkably easy to work around the limited tools that exist to limit app use and screen time, because that’s what addicts do - find a way to get what is needed. There’s always an excuse to just quickly get in to check one more thing.
So for now I guess this is an open topic, but I'm quite certain that we need to look in other places for solutions rather than at the devices themselves, and I do believe that it’s only going to get worse as we move towards the future (god only knows what we’ll do if the metaverse actually is as good as its proponents say it will be).
So what about you? Do you think you're even slightly addicted to your phone and its unquenchable thirst for your attention; and does it worry you at all? …and better yet, do you have solutions or ideas that you would like to share?
Loved the fact that you quoted Frank Herbert!
yes to the addiction, not really to the worries and putting it away at night to read a book as my semi-solution