Social ( media ) Distancing
IOT
Social ( media ) Distancing
During the pandemic , smartphone usage soared around the world - and smartphone addiction soared with it . Numbers recorded at the height of the pandemic ’ s second wave found that the average user unlocks their smartphone 150 times every day . 71 % of people sleep with or next to their phone and 81 % of users check their device within an hour of waking up .
directly tied to their users ( an accidentally loaded term , given all the addiction talk ) spending as much time using as possible . The smartest ( some might argue least scrupulous ) user experience designers on the planet have spent more than a decade at this point crafting and honing new ways to keep us glued to our phones . From colourful , candy-like icons to the infinite scroll - something its designer , Aza Raskin , has stated publicly that he regrets making - the greatest minds of our generation have created a prison of behavioural suggestion , serotonin , and FOMO .
Users , explains Hollier , aren ’ t the actual customers of app companies , but rather their products . “ Their actual customers are the companies that are paying to advertise or use the data collected . They will show the users the type of content , usually negative leaning or click bait in nature , to keep them glued to their screens .” It ’ s such a well-constructed cage for our attention that it “ leads to smartphone users finding themselves constantly , and unconsciously , pulling out their phones .”
126 November 2021