Conversations surrounding apps to limit screen time were everywhere when Apple released its Screen Time feature to the public last fall. Although they weren’t the first to do it, it was the first time many people were confronted with the actual amount of time they spend on their phones.
How Much Value Do Smart Gadgets Add?
Home gadgets have taken us by storm but it hasn’t always been this way. Back in the 80’s I woke up to a wind-up Donald Duck clock that had two old fashioned bells on the top. It sounded so much like a fire alarm that I lurched out of bed to stop, drop, and roll.
Do you remember Flappy Bird, one of the most addicting games of this decade? It started as most mobile apps do: relatively unknown for its first few months of existence. The game gained traction around December of 2013 then exploded in popularity during the following weeks.
There’s no denying the fact that technology and family have intermingled to arguably too far of an extent. Computers were only in 51 percent of American households at the turn of the century, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.
Millions of people received a rude awakening when Apple released its Screen Time iPhone app last fall. It’s no secret that most of us use our phones often, probably more often than we should. But Apple’s new feature put the cold, hard hours and minutes right in front of our faces. There’s no arguing with each meticulously-tracked pickup, incoming notification, and app open.
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Do you know someone who seems to be sucked into some addicting games? Or maybe you find yourself saying, “Just this one more level…” for hours on end? Maybe it’s playing match after match of Fortnite or the seemingly impossible-to-put-down Candy Crush? What about people who get sucked into the never-ending realm of World of Warcraft? Remember the craze of the Facebook game Farmville a few years ago?
