Do you feel like you have no control over the time you spend on your cell phone?   In this episode of The Darin Olien Show, I chat with Gaia Bernstein about why that’s the case for so many of us. While it may feel like it, it’s not your fault if you’re addicted to social media. This is because there are experts in human psychology and behavior working for these social media giants who are doing everything in their power to keep you coming back for more.    But what most of us don’t realize is they’re also great at giving us the illusion that it’s our fault that we can’t stop picking up our phones to scroll through social media. They give us screen time monitoring tools, the ability to turn off notifications, and more tools of this sort to make us feel like we have some type of control over how we use our phones. And when we fail at staying off the platforms, we blame ourselves.   We also chat about the impact our screen time has on our relationships, our mental health, and our sense of connection with our community.    Gaia Bernstein is the Technology, Privacy, and Policy Professor of Law, Co-Director of the Institute for Privacy Protection, and Co-Director of the Gibbons Institute of Law Science and Technology. Professor Bernstein specializes in law and technology, information privacy, health privacy, intellectual property, law and genetics, and reproductive technologies. She is also the founding director of the Institute for Privacy Protection. She created and spearheaded the Institute’s nationally recognized Outreach Program, which educated parents and students about technology overuse and privacy.   What we discuss:   01:43: How technology, law, and health came together for Gaia 06:41: How is personal connection impacted by technology? 08:10: Where is the line between the good and bad of technology? 10:53: How can we gain our power back again? 15:16: Data and privacy; what are we giving up? 18:28: Where did we go wrong with technology? 19:42: What’s the harm of these technologies? 24:22: How can we get control back over technology? 28:03: What can we do to empower ourselves and the community? 34:08: How can we balance the dangers of technology? 42:07: Is technology making us less smart? 43:22: How would Gaia implement measures around technology? 51:09: Is Gaia optimistic about the future legal implications around technology? 55:58: Where to learn more about Gaia and unwiring yourself from addictive technologies   Find more from Darin:   Website: https://darinolien.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Darinolien/ Book: https://darinolien.com/fatal-conveniences-book/ Down to Earth: https://darinolien.com/down-to-earth/     Find more from Gaia:   Website: https://gaiabernstein.com/ Book: Unwired: Gaining Control Over Addictive Technologies     More links:   Shop Bite and use code DARIN20 to save 20% on your Bite subscription. Shop Therasage and use code DARIN to save 15% on your purchase.