We live in a smartphone nation. Like it or not. Hail a cab, book a flight, collect your pension, check the weather, find your soulmate: it’s all there on our phones. Yes, we could stay analogue. People do. But it’s hard. And, when a heartwarming emoji or a mood-lifting cat meme is but a swipe away, who really wants to?
But that doesn’t mean our phones should get free rein. In today’s digital age, it’s important to remember who are the citizens and who are the serfs: to be clear, that’s us (smartphone owners) first, and them (the brilliant but badgering App contraptions in our pockets) second.
So argues behavioural scientists Kaitlyn Regehr, an associate professor in digital humanities at University College London and author of a new book about ‘Why we’re all addicted to screens and what you can do about it. (Its title? You’ve guessed it: Smartphone Nation).
