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Solving Tech Addiction Is an Underappreciated Market Opportunity

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Re: Solving Tech Addiction Is an Underappreciated Market Opportunity

#2

Post by spuz »

Thanks for posting this. I've believed for a long time that tech addiction is a solvable problem and technology itself can be part of that solution. I have lots of ideas about how this would work, if only I could break my own addiction to technology and start implementing them.

Re: Solving Tech Addiction Is an Underappreciated Market Opportunity

#5

Post by jeffbarg »

"While Apple, Google, and Facebook are beginning to offer tools to better understand how much we use their devices and services, those companies can’t viably fix technology addiction because their businesses prevent them from doing so."

Apple's business doesn't. I think Screen Time and App Limits will likely become two of Apple's main competitive advantages going forward because of it -- there's no way Google or Facebook could offer such a product for their services in any meaningful way without destroying their core business.

Re: Solving Tech Addiction Is an Underappreciated Market Opportunity

#6

Post by Bakary »

In my own experience struggling with addiction I've found that it is a symptom rather than a cause. Once you craft a life that is actually stimulating the tech loses its hold over you pretty quickly, if not instantly (for example when you go on a weekend outing in nature and completely forget your phone). Of course, the time and energy wasted due to the dysfunctional behavior presents a chicken-and-egg roadblock against making this happen.

I recall the studies showing the difference between Vietnam veterans who got hooked on dope and those who didn't, as well as Bruce K. Alexander's Rat Park experiments.

The other thing I've learned is that control or blocking tools can be self-defeating, since they transform fighting the addiction into a perpetually unfinished task ("It's been Y time since I did X") that naturally remains to the forefront of your brain and leaves you vulnerable if you end up in an environment without those restrictions. It's ultimately easier to address the underlying causes of trying to escape through technology.

Re: Solving Tech Addiction Is an Underappreciated Market Opportunity

#7

Post by 666lumberjack »

It seems inevitable to me that as ML-based algorithms get better at exploiting the quirks in our monkey brains and keeping us on platforms for longer and longer periods, somebody will need to develop a counter-algorithm that lives in a browser extension or (somehow) on your device and is able to recognize unhealthy engagement patterns and make you aware of them.

Actually implementing such a thing in a way that's performant and trustworthy and marketing it to people who maybe aren't consciously aware of how easily the brain can be manipulated involves a number of tough challenges, but it seems like it'll have to happen eventually.

Re: Solving Tech Addiction Is an Underappreciated Market Opportunity

#10

Post by ryandvm »

jeffbarg wrote: post #5

"While Apple, Google, and Facebook are beginning to offer tools to better understand how much we use their devices and services, those companies can’t viably fix technology addiction because their businesses prevent them from doing so." Apple's business doesn't. I think Screen Time and App Limits will likely become two of Apple's main competitive advantages going forward because of it -- there's no way Google or Face…

Not sure about Facebook, but Google is already beta testing exactly what you're talking about:

https://www.theverge.com/2018/8/6/17655520/google-digital-we...

I have it on my Pixel 2 and it works great.

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