Experts say the typical person checks their phone once every 15 minutes – not because they’ve received a text message or a notification, just because they’re worried they might have missed one.
Tristan Harris, a former product manager for tech giant Google, warns that people are increasingly becoming addicted to technology, and says that the big companies are purposely getting you hooked.
Harris knows firsthand how stressful technology can be. He left Google because he felt overwhelmed by social media updates and texts, but didn’t think they were making his life any better.
Now, he warns that technology is consuming our attention spans. He told CBS news that experts have turned your smart phone into a pocket-sized casino, encouraging you to keep checking and “playing the slot machine.”
In fact, large companies study the way your brain works and use sneaky techniques to keep you coming back for more.
Watch out for apps with “streaks” and rewards for using them every day. Even social media platforms like Facebook or Instagram will hold back your notifications, so you get dozens in one big burst. They hope these tricks will convince you to keep looking at your phone non-stop.
If you need to use your phone for work, it can feel like you’re handcuffed to it all day, but there are ways to cut down.
A “cell phone diet” that limits your time on the device every day is a good start, but for more drastic measures consider quitting a social media app cold turkey.
Remember: your phone should connect you to your friends and family, so if you’re spending time with it instead of them, that’s a problem
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