The dark side of the digital age

Are you tired of being phubbed? “Phubbing” is the act of snubbing someone you’re talking to in order to respond to a message on your cellphone or descending into a social-media black hole. Most of us are guilty of doing it and all of us have been phubbed: by colleagues, friends, spouses and – if you’re a parent – your children, especially.

Our “black mirrors” – a term for smartphones coined by the Netflix series Black Mirror – have become an integral part of daily urban lives, and the more apps you install on your phone, the deeper you are sucked into a digital black hole. Digital efficiency has come at a remarkable cost to our social and emotional wellbeing.

I’ve been tracking digital addiction for the past four years and in that time the nuances