A Sober Look At Tech Addiction

Brain Hacking Is Alarming, But What Should We Do About It?

- Paul French

“The tycoons of social media have to stop pretending that they’re friendly nerd-gods building a better world and admit they’re just tobacco farmers in t-shirts, selling an addictive product to children,” Bill Maher brazenly announced to his HBO audience back in May.

Addressing what has recently been dubbed “brain hacking,” Maher must have missed the irony of speaking about tech addiction from a platform that the average American spends about 5 hours a day glued to. But I digress.

Social media addiction is an important problem. In fact, one thing that distinguishes this dependence is just how ubiquitous its symptoms are. In movie theaters, in classrooms, in restaurants. The downcast stare and the cell phone curl are hard to avoid. Teens are especially affected, with a 2015 study showing that the average American teenager spent a frankly unbelievable 9 hours a day on social platforms.

And, earlier this year, 60 Minutes revealed that all this screen time is no coincidence. Rather, this formation of habit is exactly what many app and social media developers are working to accomplish.