This audiobook is narrated by a digital voice.

In the quiet moments between waking and sleeping, in conversations with loved ones, and during activities that once provided genuine satisfaction and meaning, billions of people around the world find themselves reflexively reaching for glowing rectangles that promise connection, entertainment, and information but increasingly deliver anxiety, distraction, and a profound sense of disconnection from their own lives. Smart device addiction represents the newest and perhaps most pervasive behavioral addiction of the digital age, where technologies designed to enhance human capability have become sources of compulsive behavior that fragment attention, disrupt relationships, and create cycles of dependency that millions struggle to break despite recognizing their harmful effects.

The relationship between humans and their smart devices has evolved from simple tool use to something resembling a parasitic dependency, where the devices designed to serve human needs have gradually taken control of human attention, behavior, and even identity formation. Unlike traditional addictions to substances that must be obtained and consumed, smart device addiction involves objects that most people carry with them constantly, creating unprecedented opportunities for compulsive use that can occur hundreds of times per day without obvious external consequences or social disapproval.