Arianna Huffington’s upcoming app stops you receiving notifications, so you can concentrate on other things. But is it the best way to break free of technology?

Thrive: the new showing off online is showing off that you’re not online

Name: Thrive.

Appearance: Dark, sleek, slightly sinister.

Age: Minus two months.

What is it? It’s an app that turns your phone off, developed by Samsung and Arianna Huffington. It will be released in December, exclusively for Samsung phones.

It sounds a little like the “off” button that my phone already has. Yes, but Thrive works automatically. It monitors how much time you spend using different apps, and stops you receiving notifications for set periods. That way you can concentrate on other things.

I’ve got an app quite like that in my brain. I call it “Decide”. I’m happy for you, but not everybody feels the same. Huffington quotes research that the average American smartphone-user touches their device 2,617 times a day.

Does she quote any proof that this is bad for you? Goodness, no, but many people feel a bit addicted to their phones. The British charity YoungMinds urges young people to have at least 15 phone-free minutes every day. Their survey found that 60% of 18- to 25-year-olds thought they would benefit from a break.

Yet they don’t take one? Not always, no. The Huff’s plan is “to help people take control of their lives and their technology – instead of being controlled by it”.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Arianna Huffington, phone-free. Photograph: Mike McGregor/Observer Magazine

So people who don’t trust themselves to make good decisions about their phone should authorise the phone to make the decisions for them? Exactly.

And Huffington thinks that stops people being controlled by technology? That’s what she says. And maybe it will help. “If you’re a parent,” Huffington says, “the Thrive app will allow you to spend time with your child and be fully present.”

Because if your child’s happiness can’t motivate you, Huffington’s app will? That’s right. People trying to message you during special family time will get a reply saying that you’re “in Thrive mode”.

Aha! So the new showing off online is showing off that you’re not online? Exactly. Huffington wants this app to spread socially, to be “more than just a product” and “create new cultural norms about what we value”.

But only among people with Samsung phones. Um, yes. That’s right.

Do say: “I’m sorry I can’t come to the phone right now. I’m too busy living an authentic life.”

Don’t say: “I’m sorry I can’t come to the phone right now. It won’t let me.”

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