“DO YOU THINK SMARTPHONES REALY ARE ADDICTIVE ?”

Jo says… Alex says…

Yes and no. As handheld computers, the smartphone has revolutionised how we go about things. For the better, for the most part.

Agreed. I commute on the train and read the news on my phone, but I also read books or a newspaper – if I have smartphone addiction, I’ve also got a paperback addiction.

I know what you mean. I organise my life with notifications and reminders. I still use paper, but I just need a nudge to check my diary!

I think my iPhone use is productive; I don’t spend all day on Instagram or Snapchat. If I’m getting stuff done, I’m happy with that.

I use WhatsApp a fair bit, but it’s for family and social admin. Stuff like that, with a number of people trying to communicate, takes a gazillion landline calls or emails.

My concern is more with social media. It’s the endless wasted hours checking the status of friends, worrying if someone’s liked a post…

Yes, and I think in this ‘smart age’, that kind of addiction is a serious concern. My son spends too much time watching YouTube videos of video games after spending too much time gaming. I need a good Wi-Fi control app.

The parental controls in macOS are great (covered in our August 2017 issue) – I think we’ll see more like them in iOS pretty soon.