Unwired : gaining control over addictive technologies / Gaia Bernstein.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Bernstein, Gaia, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Internet addiction.

Social media addiction.

Video game addiction.

Compulsive gambling.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xiii, 233 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, United Kingdom ; New York, NY : Cambridge University Press, 2023.

Summary:

Our society has a technology problem. Many want to disconnect from screens but can't help themselves. These days we spend more time online than ever. Some turn to self-help-measures to limit their usage, yet repeatedly fail, while parents feel particularly powerless to help their children. Unwired: Gaining Control over Addictive Technologies shows us a way out. Rather than blaming users, the book shatters the illusion that we autonomously choose how to spend our time online. It shifts the moral responsibility and accountability for solutions to corporations. Drawing lessons from the tobacco and food industries, the book demonstrates why government regulation is necessary to curb technology addiction. It describes a grassroots movement already in action across courts and legislative halls. Groundbreaking and urgent, Unwired provides a blueprint to develop this movement for change, to one that will allow us to finally gain control.

Contents:

Cover

Half-title

Title page

Copyright information

Dedication

Contents

Prologue

Part I The Price of the Illusion of Control

1 Becoming the Choice-Makers

Up to Our Necks

The Illusion of Control

Autonomy and Making Our Own Choices

Manipulating Choice

We Are the Frogs in the Water

The Value of Making Choices

The Wound Is Where the Light Enters

2 Addiction, Our Children, Our Bonds

From Addiction to Overuse

The Changing Face of Childhood

What Happened?

Screen Time and Cognitive Development

Social Media and Mental Health

Internet Gaming

The Science Wars

Disconnection

Hurt, Hate, and Division

Would We Have Chosen This?

3 Invisible Chains

Is He an Addict?

Technology as Choice

Capturing Time

Self-Help

Turning to Personal Responsibility

Part II Who Are the Choice-Makers?

4 Clouds of Smoke

What Do Cigarettes Have to Do with It?

The Tobacco Science Wars

The Tools of Awareness

Litigation: Promoting Awareness and Nudging the Manufacturer

Second-Hand Smoke and the Demise of Personal Responsibility

Barring Access to Minors

Lessons from the Tobacco Wars

5 The Food Wars

What Are the Food Wars?

Freedom of Speech as a Shield

The Resilient Personal Responsibility Defense

The Nanny State as the New Villain

Local Innovation and the Powers from Above

The Health Food Enigma: Awareness and Redesign

Don't Tell Us What to Do! We Know!

Minors: The Soft Spot

Lessons from the Food Wars

6 The Privacy Phoenix

Harvesting Humans

Facebook's Corporate Narcissism

The Veil Is Lifted

Creating the Myth of Self-Control

Winds from the Old World

Change from the Bottom up

Lessons from the Privacy Battleground

7 Lessons from Battling Titans

The First Amendment Mountain.

Tackling the Personal Responsibility Argument

Legitimizing Interventions

The Role of Awareness

The Risks of Self-Regulation

Takeaway Points

Part III Fighting for Choice

8 The Art of Redesign

There Is No Time Machine

A Redesign Success Story: Trans-Fat

Tech Redesign and Windows of Opportunity

Redesign Principles for Choice

Principle One: Default Settings for Restricted Use

Principle 2: Eliminating Manipulative Features

Principle 3: Developing Alternative Online Business Models and Devices

Designing Physical Spaces for Choice

9 The Tools of Awareness

Venturing Out

Truth from the Trenches of Silicon Valley

Raising Awareness through Law

Delivering Warnings

Advertising

Sending Overuse Alerts in a Digital World

10 The Ground Is Burning

From Hope to Urgency

Abuse and Neglect

Screens in Schools

11 The Achilles Heel

Loot Boxes: ''The Low Hanging Fruit''

Parents' Litigation: Going to the Core

Winds from Abroad: Ordering Redesign

Shutdown Systems

Selective Shutdown

The Fatigue System

In the United States: Options on the Table

12 Acupuncture for Change

Reviving Antitrust: Old Tools for the New Economy

Dark Patterns and Deceptive Practices

Epilogue

Acknowledgments

Notes

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Index.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 01 May 2023).

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Print version: Bernstein, Gaia Unwired

ISBN:

1-009-25796-X

1-009-25795-1

1-009-25797-8

OCLC:

1374426537