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Comment and Technology

We aren't addicted to our phones and we don't need a 'digital detox'

Describing ourselves as addicted to our phones is a counterproductive way to frame our overuse of technology, argues Pete Etchells

By Pete Etchells

31 January 2024

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Simone Rotella

IF I asked you to describe the relationship you have with your phone, what would you say? For many, I have a suspicion that the word “addicted” would crop up in some way. For those of us who use digital technology with any sort of regularity, there will inevitably come a point where we think we have overdone it, and that doesn’t feel good.

But does this really mean we are addicted to our screens? I would wager that, for the vast majority of users, the answer is no. Certainly not in a clinical sense, because there is no…

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