When social networks such as Facebook and Twitter first caught on, they seemed like little more than harmless dalliances, and smartphones such as Apple Inc.’s iPhone looked like a handy convenience for reaching internet services and information anywhere.

No more. As these technologies have become more indispensable for billions of users, their dangers have also emerged, to the extent that even the word “user” seems to suggest they’re as addictive as drugs. And recently the criticism of our overuse of technology has reached a crescendo.

A former Facebook Inc. executive uses the word “beast” to describe his creation, something currently “ripping apart society” and seducing users daily with disinformation. A “humane” coalition of former tech execs, tech investors and academics, says technology is “hijacking our minds” and abusing especially the young. All this has knocked the likes of Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg back on their heels and prompting them and others to search for ways to make the technologies less addicting.

Among the best-known critics is Arianna Huffington, co-founder of The Huffington Post and now founder and CEO of Thrive Global, a startup focused on providing health and wellness information and services to companies such as SAP SE and JPMorgan Chase. An outspoken advocate of responsible tech use, she recently discussed with SiliconANGLE how people and companies can counter the more negative aspects of our hyperconnection.

Way back in 2011, Jonathan Franzen did a takedown of Facebook for promoting echo chambers, narcissism and psychological manipulation. Why has it taken so long for criticism of technology addiction to go mainstream?

I think it was a combination of things. The smartphone is only about 10 years old now. In the last few years people have begun to realize how deeply social media and technology have penetrated our lives. And increasingly, new scientific findings have emerged showing the connection between the overuse of social media and technology and our mental health. And then the still-unfolding story of how social media was used to undermine our political system, our attention and forced us to recognize there are deeper unintended consequences to technological innovation that we need to address.

Is it hypocritical for some of those that funded or helped create the tech to warn us against it now?

Not at all, especially since many of the consequences were unintended. Their voices are an essential part of the conversation. And the fact that they feel the need to respond is a positive measure of how far the conversation has moved. And I hope they will also be part of the solution.

How would you define misuse, or overuse, of certain technologies?

I would define it like all addiction: a compulsive behavior that has negative consequences in your life and which you’re unable to stop. And according to researchers, the brain images of those addicted to social media show resemblances to those addicted to drugs.

But the signs will be different for everybody. It has just as much to do with why you’re using your phone as how much you’re using it. Are you picking it up because you really need to get something done, or are you picking it up because you’re bored or craving a quick hit of dopamine? A lot of it is about recognizing the opportunity cost of the time you spend on your phone: What are you missing out on around you with all that time spent looking down at your screen? As Thich Nhat Hanh put it, “It has never been easier to run away from ourselves.”

Should we be concerned when we look around in the airport lounge and see a large percentage of people not communicating, but swiping?

Yes, especially if you are ignoring your children or other people you love sitting beside you. We’re hardwired to connect, and it’s easy to succumb to the immediate superficial rewards of our screens and social media. But what’s lost is not just the possibility of deeper connections with those around us, but also our empathy and our skills at building those connections. It’s the phenomenon that Sherry Turkle calls being “alone together.”

Mark Zuckerberg recently said he would like the Facebook experience to be more meaningful. How do you think we can make it more meaningful, especially when tech companies endorse better use but still feel they must focus on growth and the bottom line?

When he made the announcement, he acknowledged that people would spend less time on Facebook, but that the time spent would be of higher quality. And indeed, in his fourth-quarter earnings call, he said the changes had already reduced time spent on the site by 50 million hours per day.

How can parents better encourage their children to use tech in a more beneficial way? We hear a lot about some parents being happy it keeps the kids quiet.

The most effective way parents can teach children to have a healthy relationship to technology is to model one themselves. Children learn the best when we show them rather than tell them. So, it’s hard to convince children and especially teens to look up from their screens if their parents are buried in them.

And, yes, screens are certainly a valuable tool for parents at times, which is all the more reason to work on setting limits on screen use when it’s not as useful or needed. And of course communication is key – children and teens should be brought into what should be a family discussion.

We’ve seen many reports regarding how social media might be making adolescents in particular depressed, insecure, or even suicidal. If something such as Facebook creates a culture of envy and insecurity, how do you think those young folks might avoid the negative consequences?

Again, that has to be a family discussion. I know it’s difficult – my two daughters are now in their twenties, though I certainly still remember how challenging it can be to get teenagers to open up. But technology is like an additional family member now – and one that’s a part of every family’s life.

So one of the best ways for teens to avoid those negative consequences is for parents to support and guide them. It’s also hard for anybody, and certainly teens, to make changes in isolation or go against the culture when it’s going very strongly in the wrong direction. Which is why it is so important to work for a larger culture shift that helps us set boundaries to our relationship with technology and prioritize what really matters.

Can you tell us what you are doing to improve our interaction with technology through Thrive Global and the Thrive app?

What the Thrive App does is help us recalibrate our relationship with technology by giving us the tools to take a break from our phone and set goals and limits for specific apps.

When you put your phone into “Thrive Mode,” it limits all notifications, calls and texts except for those from people you’ve specified on your VIP List. And it’s also bidirectional, so when people try to contact you while you’re in Thrive Mode, they get a message letting them know you’re in Thrive Mode and when you’ll be available again. We want it to have a multiplier effect that begins to create new cultural norms around how we use technology. Instead of only valuing always being on, we begin to value regularly unplugging and recharging.

For you personally, how do manage your time spent using technology? Have you found yourself overusing some technologies perhaps not beneficial to you?

I’m as challenged as anybody else. What made the bigger difference for me is to make sure I don’t begin and end my day with my phone. But I have also built some good habits and important rituals in my life.

At night, I charge my phone outside of my bedroom. Our phones are repositories of everything we need to put away to allow us to sleep and deeply recharge – our to-do lists, our in-boxes, the demands of the world. And in the morning, instead of reaching for my phone right when I wake up, I take a minute to breathe deeply, be grateful, and set my intention for the day. And throughout the day I try to build in regular moments to unplug and recharge. And, of course, I’m now using the Thrive App.

Are we at a point where people are starting to realize there is a problem with technology addiction? In what direction are we going, seeing that more enticing technologies such as virtual reality will no doubt become much more advanced and mainstream?

We’re definitely at an inflection point. And this past year was a pivotal year in the way we view technology. And I think the direction we’re going in is the right one: deciding to take control of our relationship with technology. And new technologies and new developments – like AI and VR – are going to force us into having the very necessary and important conversation about what are the irreducibly human qualities that we want to protect and safeguard.

Photo: Thrive Global