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In February, 1995, six years after the creation of the World Wide Web<\/a>, cyber pioneer Clifford Stoll wrote one of the most famously myopic visions of the future. \u201cThe truth is no online database will replace your daily newspaper,\u201d he wrote in a column for Newsweek, dismissing the hyperbole that the internet was about to change the world forever<\/a>. <\/p>\n \u201cVisionaries see a future of telecommuting workers, interactive libraries and multimedia classrooms,\u201d he continued. \u201cCommerce and business will shift from offices and malls to networks and modems\u2026 Baloney.\u201d<\/p>\n In recent years, it has been cited as one of the worst tech predictions, but none of these things would have ever actually happened on the scale they did without the advent of the smartphone just over a decade later.<\/p>\n Before Steve Jobs stood on a stage in California in 2007 and unveiled the first iPhone<\/a>, the internet was something people went to. They would sit down at their home or office computer, or in an internet cafe on the high street, and log in. They could check their email, browse some websites, maybe make a bank transfer or buy something, and then they would get up and leave. They would be offline.<\/p>\n The smartphone made connectivity continuous. There was no more boundary between being online and offline, people never had to log off. It marked one of the most profound behavioural transitions in modern history.<\/p>\n The average person spends four hours and 37 minutes on their phone each day, according to data compiled by DataReportal. That works out to two straight years staring at a smartphone screen over the course of a decade. For the majority of people, it is the first thing they do when they wake up and is a reflex that continues throughout their day. People check their device approximately 186 times a day \u2013 roughly once every five minutes.<\/p>\n \u2018Brain drain\u2019<\/p>\n The habit has had significant impacts on our brain chemistry, rewiring neural pathways to create a new form of dependence that shares similarities with physical addictions.<\/p>\n A study last year, titled \u2018Smartphone dependence and its influence on physical and mental health\u2019, found that people can experience \u201cnot only physical discomfort but also feelings of loneliness, anxiety, and depression\u201d if they use their phone excessively.<\/p>\n \u201cWhether waiting for a bus or subway, eating a meal, watching TV or preparing for bed, an increasing number of people rely on their smartphones<\/a> to help them pass the time,\u201d the study<\/a> noted. \u201cSmartphone addiction shares similarities with substance addiction in terms of behavioural characteristics (eg, compulsive use, reward-seeking) and potential neurobiological mechanisms (eg, involvement of the brain\u2019s reward circuit).\u201d<\/p>\n Another study in 2023 found that smartphones create a kind of \u201cbrain drain\u201d that worsens our cognitive performance, even when we\u2019re not looking at them. The researchers asked participants to complete a series of tasks while their phones were at various distances away from them. Those whose phones were in another room performed far better than those who carried out the tasks with their phones next to them \u2013 even when the device was turned off.<\/p>\n Despite the negative impact of smartphones on our mental and physical health, getting rid of them is increasingly difficult. This is because they have not just changed human behaviour, but that of businesses too. <\/p>\n Beyond the emergence of brand new business models that would not be possible without apps, like Uber and Tinder, smartphones have influenced how traditional industries operate. They have brought about the arrival of online-only banks like Revolut and Monzo, and given newspapers the confidence to ditch print editions entirely. This one you\u2019re reading right now went completely digital a decade ago. There\u2019s also keeping in touch with friends, storing tickets for transport or shows, finding where to eat, and paying for something \u2013 operating in the modern world without one is a challenge most people would rather avoid.<\/p>\n And beyond the necessities, there are features engineered to keep us engaged: scrolling through social media content that is algorithmically tailored just for you is taking up more and more of people\u2019s time. Over the last 10 years, the number of hours spent on apps like Facebook and Instagram has doubled, according to data collected by consumer insights platform GWI.<\/p>\n Not only are they taking up our time, but the algorithms are also leading to increased polarisation, extremism and the erosion of collective culture through personalised recommendation engines.<\/p>\n The damage caused has led to widespread calls for children to be banned from social media platforms, while some regulation is seeking to effectively phase out algorithmically-served content<\/a> altogether.<\/p>\n Peak smartphone era<\/p>\n Attempts to lessen our dependence on the technology may be irrelevant for what comes next. We have already passed the peak smartphone era, with figures published this week by Counterpoint Research showing that sales have fallen to their lowest point in 14 years<\/a>.<\/p>\n Global smartphone shipments are expected to fall to around 1 billion units this year, which is roughly half a billion fewer than the peak in 2016. The prolonged period of decline is a result of incremental upgrades that have led consumers to be less inclined to upgrade their devices, while a memory component crisis brought about by AI demand has seen sales fall sharply this year.<\/p>\n But a bigger shift in the tech industry may already be underway that sees people shift away from smartphones in the same way they did with desktop computers. <\/p>\n Over the next decade, a new era of \u201cambient computing\u201d could replace our current fixation with screens, according to several leading tech figures. On Thursday, Panos Panay, Amazon\u2019s senior vice president of devices, said that AI agents will carry out tasks on a user\u2019s behalf.<\/p>\n \u201cAs it works in the background, you\u2019re able to stay more present,\u201d he said at TechCrunch Disrupt. \u201cYou\u2019re able to get more done. You\u2019re about to spend more time with people\u2026 I think that transformation is coming. I think that is the next generation.\u201d<\/p>\n As part of this vision, Amazon unveiled a new AI-powered device called the Bee Frontier. It is a wearable that can be worn like a bracelet or clipped to clothing and will \u201clisten to your whole day\u201d in order to serve as a hands-free, AI personal assistant.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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Supporters of Albania’s opposition Democratic Party leader Lulzim Basha hold up their smartphones during a protest in Turana on 21 June, 2019 (AFP\/Getty)<\/p>\n![\"Smartphones](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/iStock-892227446.jpeg\")
Smartphones have simultaneously connected the world and brought about a loneliness epidemic (Getty\/iStock)<\/p>\n