“Let us see rather that like Janus—or better, like Yama, the Brahmin god of death—religion [technology] has two faces, one very friendly, one very gloomy…” -Arthur Schopenhauer, Essays and Aphorisms

“Michael Varus drew his sword. ”My father is Janus, the god of two faces. I am used to seeing through masks and deceptions.”
― Rick Riordan, The Blood of Olympus

The degrading effect smartphones are having on our cognitive ability, sleep, and relationships—and the related connection between social media, elections and democracy—is rapidly becoming the most talked-about topic in tech.

The WSJ, Guardian, and FT all published long stories about how smartphones can be addictive. Each one is worth reading, particularly Nicholas Carr’s op-ed in the WSJ (paywall).

Business Insider put them together in this article.

I think there is a good chance this will become one of the two or three defining conversations of the next few years, and that it will influence the change-agents who will be responsible for the next major disruptive changes in our communication stack.