SELF-GUIDED AND GROUP DISCUSSION QUESTIONS & ACTIVITIES Reflections Consider your own behaviors as you read through 24/6
devotes the first two chapters to describing how “our
and discuss the following:
phones are designed to addict us.”
Let’s start with a brief self-assessment. Visit gobricknow.
Randi Zuckerberg (sister of Mark Zuckerberg of
com and take Tommy Sobel’s phone quiz.
Facebook fame) claims in Dot Complicated that 90%
Alternatively, there is also a Smartphone Compulsion Test to try: virtual-addiction.com/smartphone-compulsiontest
The questions include:
Do you find yourself spending more time on your cell phone or smartphone than you realize?
Do you seem to lose track of time when on your cell phone or smartphone?
Do you find yourself spending more time texting, tweeting, or emailing as opposed to talking to people in person?
Do you feel reluctant to be without your cell or smartphone, even for a short time?
In the first and seventh chapters, Tiffany mentions how people get addicted to their smartphones and devices.
of people are within three feet of their device 24 hours a day, 52% of people wake up in the middle of the night just to check their device(s). Now ask yourself: Have you ever been addicted to something, such as nicotine, caffeine or video-gaming? Do you habitually stay up late watching sports or movies, or binging on a TV series that everyone is talking about, to the extent that your sleep suffers? How would you compare screen addiction to other addictions? Tiffany claims, “Our 24/7 society is a firehose of media, news, emails, tweets, posts, likes, texts, pings, notifications, and buzzes.” (Page 8) “Think about how many times we get up from being where we are because of a ping that is not urgent in any way.” (page 33) Does this characterize your day?
Analyze your typical day. How quick are you to respond to every ping and buzz on your phone?
Do you check your email, texts or newsfeed just before going to bed or as soon as you awake?
On page 41, she declares, “Addicting us is the whole point.” “Technology can be just as addictive as nicotine or heroin or any other drug; in fact, it works in some similar ways.” (Page 44) In her own book, Catherine Price
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