Grand Tech Illusion
Don’t let the companies fool
you: the only way to end your mobile phone addiction is to switch it off
yourself
Turn
off your mobile phone when you get home or when you’re with other people. Both
you and the world will survive
Anew disorder and mental
health condition just got added to the World Health Organisation’s Disease
Classification Manual. It’s characterised by a pattern of “significant
impairment in personal, family, social, educational, occupational or other
areas of important functioning”. Surprisingly, it’s a Gaming Disorder. And many
mental health experts feel there should have been one more addition in the same
category. A Mobile Phone Disorder.
I’m not dissing the
mobile phone, even though it may seem so. My last two columns were on the
shortfalls of mobile phone manufacturers, and now I’m calling using the device
a mental disorder. We are all just innocent pawns in a specifically engineered
plan to keep us completely addicted to our mobile phones. And more so in the
last few days, due to a new grand illusion.
THE
SCIENCE
It’s a scientific fact
that the chemicals that explode in our brain when we get a new message, a
‘like’ on our posts or a comment on an online photo are exactly the same as
when a drug user gets a hit or an alcoholic downs a drink. Once we’ve
experienced that, we want more all the time. Humans have a strong response to
stimuli and are compulsive clickers and button pressers. When lights, colours
and sounds come alive around us, we are programmed to respond and are delighted
when the device that is with us 24x7 provides us a steady flow of that all day
and night. All that an app programmer and a mobile phone OS maker needs is to
tap into that psychology. We are hooked for life!
THE
NUMBERS
Just how addicted are we?
Here are some stats: 92 per cent of people respond to a message on WhatsApp
within six seconds, 87 per cent of people read their social media posts while
on their lunch break, 99 per cent of people have their phones within arm’s
reach 21 hours a day, 70 per cent of people take their phones with them to the
bathroom and 81 per cent of people check their phones at a funeral and/ or a
wedding. And these numbers are growing at an astonishing pace.
THE
FOUNDERS
Steve Jobs, the man
credited with perfecting the smartphone, restricted his children from using his
own products. “We limit how much technology our kids use at home,” he said in
an interview. Bill Gates didn’t give his kids phones until they were 14. Most
CEOs of the hottest tech device companies strictly limit their children’s
screen time. Reflect on that deeply for a moment. They restrict usage of the
very devices they make and sell to us! Do they know something that the rest of
us don’t?
THE
SOLUTION?
A silver lining seemed to
have arrived in the past few days. Both Google and Apple announced that they
have realised that people are addicted to their phones, that it was serious and
that they would be incorporating various features deep into their mobile operating
system to make us more aware of our addiction. There’s even a brand new term
for it now. Tech Wellness! Hallelujah, we’ve been saved! Or have we?
THE
RUSE
This is another Grand
Tech Illusion. A sleight of hand where the card shown isn’t really the one you
chose. I know I’m in controversial territory, but I have facts to back me up.
Whenever the world finds
a negative in a particular business, sales suffer. The best way to counter that
is to show that you’re a business that is concerned and responsible. That’s why
McDonald’s sells fresh salads along with their burgers and fries. That’s why
Pepsi and Coke sell Smartwater and other health drinks along with their
sugar-laden colas. That’s why car companies sell hybrids along with their
gas-guzzling monster SUVs. Now tech companies are concerned about their
consumers, and are adding features that will take care of their addiction. They
can now use their phone even more as the software has inbuilt safety features.
Remember, the companies
aren’t saying they will reduce the features that make phones addictive in the
first place. They are only adding monitoring that reports on usage patterns. At
the end of the day, all these companies have shareholders to answer to. They
aren’t going to make their phones less addictive, leading to lower sales and
profits. They want you to feel warm and loved in this new illusion cocoon
they’ve built for you.
Rajiv Makhni
ETBR 8JUL18
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