This article really brought to light how much I am on my cellphone and checking my social media. I think the reference to social media being like junk is very accurate, because the more we use social media and our phones, the more addicted we become. I have never thought of apps being modified to make them more addictive to their users, but after reading this article it is clear that I have played into their tactics. I definitely am addicted to snapchat, and I think the modification that made it that made it even more addictive than it already was is the creation of the “story”. With this new invention, snapchat users could see what their friends were doing all the time, making users, especially me, constantly refresh their stories to see if something new was going on in their friends lives, or more importantly if they were missing out on something. I have a friend who deleted her snapchat because she said it made her anxious and constantly have “fomo” when she saw other people’s stories or snapchats. She told how much better it felt to not have the responsibility of a snapchat, and how she could be more in the moment because she wasn’t constantly checking her phone.

I personally think that I check my phone a little too much throughout the day, but it has become such a habit that I would never download a software that modifies my usage. I think that social media and apps are continuing to become more addictive, and that at this point, no one is willing to give up any time spent on their smartphones.