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A review by ageorgiadis
Irresistible: The Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping Us Hooked by Adam Alter
4.0
“Waterboarding in Guantanamo Bay sounds rad if you don’t know what either of those things mean.”
-p 123, Reddit post
I found this to be a great, tight little book about a behavioral addiction to which most of us have fallen prey. As a result of these pages, I downloaded apps that informed me that I use my phone 3-5 hours per day, and while that includes lots of podcasts, that is still too much. I pick it up an average of 52 times per day, and spend 20% of my waking time on my iPhone. It’s a sickness.
Adam Alter outlines addiction to substance and behavior, with lay and scientific research, anecdotal evidence from those whose lives have been upended by technology (addiction to World of Warcraft being a prominent example). You also get the history of Tetris, social commentary about raising kids in this environment, formal recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics, and strategies to employ in combating this phenomenon. In short, abstinence isn’t the answer – replacement is.
This book is worthy, timely, and does not overstate its case. We all need to be aware of what is happening to our society. A technology that didn’t exist in my teenage years now takes 20% of my waking hours, and that is only one screen of many in my daily life.
“Medicalizing behavioral addiction is a mistake. What we should be doing is what they do in Taiwan and Korea. There they see behavioral addiction as a social issue rather than a medical issue.”
-p 23, Allen Frances
-p 123, Reddit post
I found this to be a great, tight little book about a behavioral addiction to which most of us have fallen prey. As a result of these pages, I downloaded apps that informed me that I use my phone 3-5 hours per day, and while that includes lots of podcasts, that is still too much. I pick it up an average of 52 times per day, and spend 20% of my waking time on my iPhone. It’s a sickness.
Adam Alter outlines addiction to substance and behavior, with lay and scientific research, anecdotal evidence from those whose lives have been upended by technology (addiction to World of Warcraft being a prominent example). You also get the history of Tetris, social commentary about raising kids in this environment, formal recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics, and strategies to employ in combating this phenomenon. In short, abstinence isn’t the answer – replacement is.
This book is worthy, timely, and does not overstate its case. We all need to be aware of what is happening to our society. A technology that didn’t exist in my teenage years now takes 20% of my waking hours, and that is only one screen of many in my daily life.
“Medicalizing behavioral addiction is a mistake. What we should be doing is what they do in Taiwan and Korea. There they see behavioral addiction as a social issue rather than a medical issue.”
-p 23, Allen Frances