Why are so many people eager to defend smartphones, despite their obvious harm? I do think it has a bit to do with what I said about the heroin addict’s “I could quit anytime I like,” but there’s something deeper too. I think this more buried aspect is just a version of status quo bias, but more entrenched and so harder to root out. They can’t admit they’ve made such a huge mistake over such a long period and thus deny that there could possibly be anything wrong.

But there is. And deep inside, they obviously know it. In that way, it’s very similar to the increasingly-debunked Fat Acceptance movement.