Tony Fadell, a former designer for Apple who's been called the "father of the iPod," said smartphones and social media have gotten so good at getting users to pursue "another dopamine hit" that tech companies must help users track their use.
Why it matters: Fadell is joining a growing chorus of big names in Silicon Valley who are warning that smartphones and social media are taking over our lives, and leading to everything from depression to the spread of fake news. The country's biggest business group will warn today of a coming "techlash" as the chorus grows.
Go deeper: "The growing war on tech addiction," by Axios' David McCabe.
Here's what Fadell said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal:
“Just like we need a scale for our weight we need a scale for our digital lives,” Mr. Fadell said in an interview. He said he became concerned about the issue in recent years as he saw families at resorts spending time with devices rather than each other, or couples taking selfies on ski slopes rather than enjoying the views.
And in a series of Tweets yesterday (see the full Tweetstorm on the topic here), Fadell says the big tech companies like Apple, Google, Facebook and Twitter "are the only ones" who can give users the tools they need to limit digital overload.