We snack when we’re bored. But it’s no longer the food that woos us. It’s our phones.

Our third screen is now our first, so engulfed in staring at a rectangular flow that we’re not even bothered to skip the television’s ads. 

The smartphone relegated the tv to mere background noise.

So baked into the rectangular glow, we lose our ability to pay attention to the external world. 

It’s all psychological, of course. 

Every time we check Instagram, our heads light up like Christmas trees catapulted by jolts of dopamine. We get stuck in the anesthetic ludic loop of scrolling. The Instagram hearts dangle like carrots begging for another peck.  

The influencers can’t help themselves but share. The creators can’t help but curate. The trolls feed off the attention seekers. We live in the persistent presence of distraction, amusing ourselves to death.

Generational thumbs want fantasy without living the reality. But wake-up science reveals only hell. The physical world screams peak screen.