Smartphone addiction is at an all-time high, thanks to the Covid-19 lockdowns, potentially leading to various mental health disorders and antisocial behaviors. With such serious risks associated with heavy smartphone use, why are we making them indispensable for everyday living?

Most Americans are aware at some level that they are addicted to their phones. Various first-person exposés on wrestling with iPhone addiction appear in corporate media outlets from time to time. I expect that most of these journalists have gone back to phone-slavery, especially after pandemic lockdowns forced people to substitute technology for in-person interaction.

But all hope is not lost. A recent New York Times article documents the formation of a Luddite club by a group of Gen Z high schoolers in Brooklyn. These beatnik teens have traded their smartphones for flip phones, swearing off social media altogether.

[Or, alternately, people could exercise some self-discipline. The phone isn’t the issue; the problem lies with some of the people who use them. — Ed]