In our evolutionary history, head lice, flea and tapeworm have been companions of humanity. Nevertheless, the largest parasite of the modern era is not a blood -sucking innocent. It is smooth by design, in front of glass and addiction. Its host? Every human on earth with a WiFi signal.
Away from being a benign equipment, smartphones are parasites in the interests of our time, our attention and our personal information, all technology companies and their advertisers.
In a new article in Australian Journal of PhilosophyWe argue that smartphones pose unique social risks, which come in sharp focus when viewed through the lens of parasitism.
What, in fact, is a parasite?
Evolutionary biologists define a parasite as a species that benefits from a close relationship with another species – its host – while the host tolerates a cost.
Head liceFor example, its existence is completely dependent on our own species. They only eat human blood, and if they become disorganized by their hosts, they only survive until they are lucky to fall on another human skull. In exchange for our blood, head lice give us nothing but a bad itching; This is the cost.
The smartphone has fundamentally changed our lives. From navigating cities to management of chronic health diseases Like diabetesThese pocket-shaped bits of technology make our lives easier. So much that most of us are rarely without them.
Nevertheless, despite their benefits, many of us are hostage to our phones and slaves for endless scrolls, unable to fully disconnect. Phone user Price pay With lack of sleep, weak offline relationships and mood disorders.
Interpretic
Not all close species have parasites. Many organisms that live inside or inside are beneficial.
Consider bacteria in the digestive system of animals. They can only survive and breed in the intestine of their host species, which can be fed to the nutrients passing through. But they Provide profit For the host, including better immunity and better digestion. These win-win associations are called mutuality.
The Human-Smartphone Association began as a mutuality. Technology proved useful for humans to stay in touch, navigate through maps and find useful information.
Philosophers have spoken not in the context of mutuality, but as a phone. Expansion of human mindLike notebooks, maps and other equipment.
From these benign origin, however, we argue that the relationship has become a parasite. Such changes are not uncommon in nature; A Mutualist may develop to become a parasiteor vice versa.
Smartphone
Since smartphones have become almost indispensable, some of the most popular apps they provide have come to fulfill the interests of app-making companies and their advertisers more honestly than their human users.
These apps Are designed To mourn our behavior Keep scrolling usClick on the advertisement and always boil in outrage.
Data on our scrolling behavior is used to pursue that exploitation. Your phone only cares about your personal fitness goals or desires to spend more quality time with your children that it uses this information for a tailor to better capture its attention.
So, it can be useful to think about users and their phones because the hosts and their parasites – at least some time.
Although this feeling is interesting in itself, the advantage of seeing smartphones through the evolutionary lens of parasitism comes in itself when considering where the relationship can go further-and how we can fail these high-tech parasites.
Where policing comes
On the Great Barrier Reef, Bluestrack Cleaner Vras Install “Cleaning Station” where large fish allow dead skin, loose scales, and inattentive parasites to feed parasites living in their dhal on May on May. This relationship is a classic mutuality – large fish lose expensive parasites and fed cleaner vruses.
Sometimes the cleaner “cheated” and tied the scale from mutuality to parasitism, beating its hosts. Fish can be cleaned Punish criminals By chasing them or stopping further visits. In this, Reef Fish displays some evolutionary biologists who are important to keep mutuality in balance: policing.
Can we adequately police our exploitation by smartphone and restore a pure-profit relationship?
Development suggests that two things are important: the ability to detect exploitation when it happens, and the ability to react (usually by withdrawing the service to the parasite).
A hard fight
In the case of a smartphone, we cannot easily detect exploitation. Tech companies that designs various features and algorithms to pick up your phone Not advertising this behavior,
But even if you know about the exploitative nature of smartphone apps, it is more difficult to answer the phone is more difficult than keeping the phone down.
Many of us have become dependent on smartphones for everyday tasks. Instead of remembering the facts, we close the work for digital devices – for some people, This can change their feeling and memory,
We depend on having a camera to capture the events of life or even recording only where we parked the car. it Both increase and limit our memory of events,
Governments and companies have further strengthened our dependence on our phone by transferring their service distribution online through mobile apps only. Once we pick up the phone to reach our bank accounts or reach government services, we have lost the fight.
How can the users then redeem the unbalanced relationship with their phone, returning the parasitic relationship a mutually returning?
Our analysis suggests that individual options cannot firmly achieve users. We are individually outdoor information benefits in the race of host-parasitic weapons by Tech companies.
Australian Government Social media ban of young age What these parasites can legally do, is an example of the collective action required to limit it. To win the battle, we will also need restrictions App facilities are known for drug addictionAnd on the collection and sale of our personal data.
Rachel L. BrownDirector of Center for Philosophy of the Sciences and Associate Professor of Philosophy, Australian national university, And Rob bruxScientific professor of development, UNSW Sydney
This article has been reinstated Conversation Under a Creative Commons License. read the Original article,
