How tech companies are addressing screen addiction
Date Posted: Wednesday, October 10, 2018Category: UMass Chan Medical School
(CNN)You see your phone light up from the corner of your eye and instinctively reach for it. What started as a simple notification check snowballs into an hour-long session as you swipe through rows of notifications and scroll through endless social media feeds.
This is by design.
From app developers to tech behemoths such as Google and Facebook, companies have spent years working to make consumer technology as addictive as possible. After all, time spent with their products could equal big bucks for the company.
However, that's starting to change, and we could be at the precipice of a shift in how software is designed. Apple and Google are implementing new features aimed at curbing phone usage, and apps like Instagram are rolling out features intended to help you manage your time with the app better.