Humanity keeps innovating in every single way. That’s a fact. Technology is a transversal motor and generated many problems across time.
One of them is the dependency on it, as each technological revolution has stated a new way of (earning) life. Nowadays we have many ways to use and express through technologies. This has led to creating new problems such as nomophobia.
Here comes a list of several movements about technodependency.
Trends
TREND – VIDEO GAME ADDICTION AS A MENTAL DISORDER
Why are we concerned with the increasing amount of time people spend on their phones? Is it physically dangerous to human beings?
This possibility has become such a health trend globally, that the World Health Organization has stepped in, and just as recently as last September it has categorized a very typical technological activity,gaming, as an addiction in the frame of a mental disorder.
In its definition, it recognizes that in extreme cases people can lose control over their gaming habits, not being able to stop and giving it priority to other activites, even if it brigns negative consequences.
This trend is clearly a micro trend, since its opinion is clearly not adopted by the majority of the the users of this product (aka the players), even though it has been a belief that often has been mentioned by minorities. However, nowadays futher research such as this article might turn the tide and win previous deniers of this idea.
https://www.who.int/features/qa/gaming-disorder/en/
TREND – DOMOTICS & INTERNET OF THINGS
Imagine that your are in the office and you can turn on the oven of your home with an app, or turn on the heating before comming home… This is not part of a futuristict film, this is the reality and it is called domotics. Home automation or domotics is building automation for a home, called a smart home or smart house.
A home automation o domotics system will control lighting, climate, entertainment systems, and appliances. It may also include home security such as access control and alarm systems. When connected with the Internet, home devices are an important constituent of the Internet of Things (“IoT”).
However, this trend is generating more dependence of the technology. From now on, our homes will be more “smart-home” and technology will be present in places that you would not imagine.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_automation
TREND – AUTONMOUS DRIVING
Everyone’s talking about autonomous driving, but what does it mean? How far are we from creating a self-driving car and what is already reality?
There is a small amount of companies which have the intention to disrupt the driving experience. In order to make it happen, those companies have started to develop the concept of autonomous driving, which is redefining the role of the automobile. It does not only enhance safety and comfort, but also provide us with more free time which was previously spent driving.
Could be considered as a micro trend because the amount of companies that are pushing the state of art are limited.
https://www.synopsys.com/automotive/what-is-autonomous-car.html
TREND – PHONE METRICS
Nowadays, lots of companies offer a product which purpose is to provide a dashboard with your digital life. This has become a trend as many companies have incorporated this concept on their products (or even created their business from it!).
The analytics’ purpose is to provide the end user information about their habits so they can understand their behaviour and do something about it.
This trend could be classified as a micro trend as it provides a solution for a niche group, dynamic and still experimental.
Here are some articles about this trend:
https://www.shopify.com/blog/time-management-apps
https://zapier.com/blog/best-time-tracking-apps/
And even some information on the approach from big companies:
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208982
https://www.android.com/digital-wellbeing/
TREND – ONLINE COMPANIES / eSTORES
One of the biggest changes that we have been living in the last 10 – 15 years is the huge increase of online Companies / eSTORES. Amazon, Mercado Libre, Ebay, Craigslist, Groupon, Wish we all have heard about at least one of this famouse sites that allow us to buy almost anything we can think of in the comfort of our home, the only thing you need is access to the internet and a debit/credit card.
This tendency is Mega, it has been adopted globaly as the new way to make bussiness, and it has been accepted internationaly.
Companies
COMPANY – SPACE
Space is a company that appear with objective of create a “phone/life” balance. Space is an App that you can donwload in your smartphone that monitoring your activity with the phone. The objective of the company is not avoiding the use of smathpone/technology, their objetivo is to find a perfect combination between live a “real life” and use the technology. With that purpose, the app sugest you to block the phone when you take a lot of time using it and do other activities to “connect ” with the world.
https://findyourphonelifebalance.com+
COMPANY – Tesla
Tesla is leading the area of autonomous conduction. Their cars are provided withe a system formed by eight surround cameras provide 360 degrees of visibility around the car at up to 250 meters of range and twelve updated ultrasonic sensors complement this vision, allowing for detection of both hard and soft objects at nearly twice the distance of the prior system.
Autonomous conduction suppose an incredible advance in conduction despite of it is absolutely dependent of the tehcnology of the car system. However, Auto Pilot (the system created by Tesla) only works if someone puts their hands on the Steering wheel of the car, preventing that the driver are asleep looking the road.
https://www.tesla.com/autopilot
COMPANY – Apple
This company provides a variety of products, services and experiences. This company doesn’t tackle the problem the problem of technodependency per se, but has taken an approach which provides some tools which provide their users an enviroment to prevent technodependency. Through Screen time, Apple has provided their end users (iOS, iPadOS and macOS devices) tools for noticing behaviours, defining limits and allowances.
Apple provides a colourful dashboard which provides the amount of time spent on their devices screens (as a device and each app), as panes to define “downtime”, app limits, communication limits, permissions and restrictions. They also provide a passcode to prevent unwanted modifications (useful for tutors to prevent restricted use from the end users).
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208982
COMPANY – reSTART
reSTART is a treatment center specialized on screentime, internet, gambling and gaming addiction in which teenagers and adults enroll to treat these habits by having personal experiences without their devices in boarding campus, as well as receiving behavioural assistance from councelors.
The value they present to the costumer is the opportunity to help to better oneself by having potentially fun and interesting experiences with other people, rather than to force oneself to just not use the phone.
https://www.netaddictionrecovery.com/
COMPANY – Sandstone care
This rehab center provides customized treatment to each of their clients, they support and help each client through the recovery proces. Sandstone not only treats the addiction but also the underlying mental health conditions preparing their clients for a sustainable life that will continue after the recovery. The main focus group that they treat are young adults and teens, people between 13 and 30 years old.
All their services provide an evidence-based, integrated treatment program that is prove to help people throughtheir addiction.
https://www.sandstonecare.com/
DomeSolutions 