Opinion: Smartphone Dependency Mirrors Car-Centric Development

By now, most planners are aware of the negative impacts of car-centric development and the failures of building a system that makes people dependent on one specific technology: the automobile. But are we now making the same mistakes, building society around one device: the smartphone?

This is what Owen Haacke posits in an opinion piece for Next City. Haacke notes that much of modern life is becoming entwined with smartphone ownership. “Restaurants place QR codes on the table to order; paper menus are absent. Parking meters require an app for payment; coins are no longer an option. Events require e-tickets linked to a phone’s Near Field Communication (NFC) chip, the “tap to pay” technology, without an option to attend the event without one.” And while these changes may offer convenience for some, they can exclude others.

“More concerning, smartphone dependence is creeping into essential services we need to function in society. Public transit only offers routes and schedules on apps. Workplaces require authentication apps to clock in. Clinics require apps to check in.” Without preserving analog options, people are forced to adapt — or be left out.

Instead of letting smartphones overtake society the way cars did, Haacke suggests that “We can avoid that fate if we act with collective will.” Accessing services without a smartphone should be a basic right — and could help reduce the anxiety and dependency that comes with constant smartphone use. “If our infrastructure assumes everyone carries a smartphone to function, then all efforts to reduce screen time are futile.”