Silicon Valley Warns That Their Products Are Addictive

What’s the Latest Development?

Silicon Valley is becoming increasingly aware of the potentially dangerous psychological effects their products have on end users, and now the industry is publicly advising those users to go online in moderation. “The concern, voiced in conferences and in recent interviews with many top executives of technology companies, is that the lure of constant stimulation—the pervasive demand of pings, rings and updates—is creating a profound physical craving that can hurt productivity and personal interactions.” Exercises like yoga and mindful meditation have been promoted as ways of calming and centering tech-heavy individuals. 

What’s the Big Idea?

The extent to which paying constant attention to a mobile device is a threat to your mental and physical well-being remains an under-studied field in the psychological sciences. In the upcoming version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, however, which is widely viewed as the authority on mental illnesses, ‘Internet use disorder’ will be featured in its appendix, “an indication researchers believe something is going on but that requires further study to be deemed an official condition.” Michelle Gale, former head of learning and development at Twitter, said she regularly coached the company’s engineers and executives that their gadgets had addictive properties.

Photo credit: Shutterstock.com