We explore how to reset your relationship with technology in the new year

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Setting tech resolutions in 2024

As we kick off 2024—a year that will be full of explorations at the intersection of tech, democracy, human agency, and well-being—it’s worth pausing to reflect on our relationship with technology.

While tech companies have designed their platforms to capture our attention, use our data, and hit us with endless streams of content, we are not without power. In this newsletter, we’ll explore the empty promises of modern technologies and what we can do to build better tech habits this year.

// The lie of technology

In an essay ([link removed] ) from last year, author Brett Scott explored why technology rarely delivers on the promises to make our lives easier, more convenient, and more productive. Instead, Scott suggests, technology makes our lives “faster and more crammed with stuff.”

It’s worthwhile to stop and wonder: Do the technologies we use every day deliver on their promises? For many the honest answer is that it’s complicated.

- Facebook promises to “bring the world closer together,” but it also polarizes us.
- Instagram says it brings “you closer to people and things you love,” and yet it can also make us feel bad about our lives.
- Slack promises to “connect the right people, find anything you need and automate the rest.” But its incessant notifications can become a distraction from getting work done.

The technologies we use might have the potential to improve our lives, but they are also vying for our attention. Project Liberty Alliance member, The Center for Humane Technology ([link removed] ) , has produced a briefing on how the attention economy works ([link removed] ) and why tech firms are fighting for our attention. The briefing answers five questions, from “How does competing in the attention economy shape the social media products we use?” to “How does the race for attention distort how we see the world?”

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The average American checks their phone 144 times per day.

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// The price of our attention

When tech companies profit from our attention, we pay a steep price.

The loss of time: The average American checks their phone 144 times per day ([link removed] ) . Between 2019 and 2021, 13-18-year-olds spent an average of 8 hours and 39 minutes online every day ([link removed] ) . A Pew Research study ([link removed] ) released last month found that one in five teens are on YouTube and TikTok almost constantly.

The decline in mental health: The last few years have produced both academic research and anecdotal evidence about the relationship between social media use and declining mental health. Last year, attorneys general from 33 states ([link removed] ) filed a federal lawsuit against Meta alleging the tech company encouraged addictive behaviors it knew to be harmful to young users.

The loss of focus: Gloria Mark ([link removed] ) , an attention researcher at the University of California Irvine, found that our attention spans are getting shorter. In 2003, the average attention span on any screen was 2 minutes and 30 seconds ([link removed] ) . Today, it’s averaging 47 seconds on a screen. In response, schools have implemented phone bans ([link removed] ) to improve focus and reduce distractions, but the results so far have been inconclusive.

The loss of nuance: In the competition for attention, companies are designing their platforms and evolving their content to be as attention-grabbing as possible. There’s a reason why TikTok was the fastest tech platform to reach one billion users ([link removed] ) . For digital platforms like X, there’s little space for nuance in 240 characters. What was considered, in principle, as a digital town square for important civic dialogue, is, in practice, a feed of one-liners and hot-takes.

// A healthier relationship to technology

From TikTok’s video-feed to the notifications that ping on our phone, technologies are designed to draw us in. So we can’t place the burden only on individuals, but we still have the power to take small steps to enter into a healthier relationship with our tech.

Here are a few ideas to consider in the new year:

- Improve your screen time: Project Liberty Alliance member Logoff Movement ([link removed] ) has a Guide to Improve Screen Time ([link removed] ) , with best practices on how to change phone settings to receive less notifications (and maybe even go to grayscale), new apps to download, and habits to form. They also have a campaign, Forks Up, Phones Down ([link removed] ) , designed to build awareness and “tech intentionality” by hosting events for youth across the country.
- Leverage tech: Not all tech is designed to lure you in. Digital Detox ([link removed] ) , a digital wellness company, has a list of five apps ([link removed] ) that help you limit screen time, and a 5-minute digital wellness quiz ([link removed] ) to help determine the health of your relationship with tech. Apps like Clearspace ([link removed] ) introduce a layer of friction to keep you from doom-scrolling, Forest ([link removed] ) helps you stay focused on what matters, and one sec ([link removed] ) makes distracting apps scientifically less appealing.
- Set boundaries: Setting physical boundaries between you and tech (like leaving your phone outside of the bedroom ([link removed] ) ) or time boundaries (like taking a digital sabbath ([link removed] ) one day per week) are examples of boundaries that help reinforce good tech habits.

// Setting new technology intentions

A study from 2018 ([link removed] ) by researchers from the University of British Columbia found that the mere presence of phones on a table as people shared a meal, even when they were not actively used, diminished the quality of face-to-face conversations. Such a study might be demoralizing. Even when we’re not using technology, it’s still using us.

But the study, for the optimistic among us, is also an invitation not only to step into a healthier relationship to technology, but to invest deeply in the human relationships that make us most alive and to design the relational gatherings to be so nourishing and intentional that it makes any notification on our phone an unwelcome distraction.

Whether it’s through national campaigns, one-off gatherings, or daily habits, we wish you a healthy year of technology in 2024!

Other notable headlines

// 🌝 An article in the Atlantic ([link removed] ) explored how expensive one emoji can be. An emoji is at the heart of a corporate lawsuit and is raising questions about how we interpret emojis.

// 🖨 An article in The Guardian ([link removed] ) cautions that it might be too soon to determine what AI’s long-term impact will be. As with the printing press and the dotcom boom, the initial frenzy obscures the legacy of new technologies.

// 🖥 We are at a crucial moment for US leadership in computing and microelectronics, according to an article in MIT Technology Review ([link removed] ) .

// 🥂 The Wall Street Journal ([link removed] ) predicted the tech that will change your life in 2024. From AI and mixed-reality headsets to password security and social media regulation.

// 🌎 An article in Rest of the World ([link removed] ) made four predictions surrounding tech for 2024.

// 🤔 The internet is at another inflection point and transition in its balance of power, according to an article in Rolling Stone by Anil Dash ([link removed] ) that made predictions for the year ahead in tech.

// 🤳 Hyper-realistic ‘virtual influencers’ are being used to promote leading brands, and taking business away from real influencers, according to an article in the Financial Times ([link removed] ) .

// 🛡 After a record year in digital attacks, an article in the Economist ([link removed] ) reported that ransomware can cripple countries, not just companies.

Partner news & opportunities

// Virtual event on the intersection of cybersecurity and AI

January 16th at 10am ET

Aspen Digital ([link removed] ) is hosting a virtual event on the impact of AI on cybersecurity. Cyber and AI experts will share their predictions of the future, as well as what you and your organization can do to steer in the right direction. Register here ([link removed] ) .

// Online course on humane technology

The Center for Humane Technology ([link removed] ) has a free online course, Foundations of Humane Technology, for professionals shaping tomorrow's technology. Learn alongside engineers, product managers, researchers, and professionals on how to build more humane tech. Register here ([link removed] ) .

/ Project Liberty is advancing responsible development of the internet, designed and governed for the common good. /

Thank you for reading.

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