After I wrote last week’s blog on “Social Media Addiction,” I started to pay more attention to devices more. This included my own tech habits as well as those around me. Everywhere I looked, people were constantly on their devices. This included three teenagers taking a break from work. I was sitting somewhere and noticed three teens all in the same uniform. Instead of chatting with each other, as I likely would have done on my work breaks at that age, each one remained firmly glued to their devices. I’m surprised I even noticed because I too, was also glued to my device.
This, alas, is what children and teenagers see. While it’s easy to point the finger at social media companies, that’s only part of the problem. Smartphones, by design, are meant to be addictive. Each app, or service on them, are all vying for our attention. Even more than that, the design of many apps and services will only work specifically with smartphones. Sometimes they will only work with smartphones. I recall this to be the case the other week when I had to verify my identity for the IRS refund. Even starting the interaction on a laptop, I had to switch to the smartphone to upload the IDs. This was by design.
Over the weekend I went to an Augmented Reality (AR) exhibit at the Royal Botanical Garden (RBG). Last time I went to an AR exhibit at RBG I brought my iPad to enjoy the AR on a bigger screen. This time, however, the QR codes would only work on a smartphone. Some of the exhibit pieces had QR codes to scan for an audio clip explaining something about the work. The AR pieces only had a sign with a QR code and instructions. But alas, I couldn’t get them to work on the iPad forcing me to squint and pinch at the tiny smartphone screen to get the AR effects.
Though the proposals from Meta are a start, albeit suggested from the source of the problem itself, there are other measures to take. Children learn from the world around them. Even though social media guardrails sound good in theory, the problem is more pervasive. It would also require adults adhere to some self-imposed restrictions and put down the devices once in a while. Are we going full circle?