The Oprah Podcast Gen Z Tech Addiction Crisis with Oprah and Adam Alter
Sep 30, 2025
Oprah welcomes Kaitlyn Regehr, an expert on digital humanities and author of Smartphone Nation, to discuss Gen Z's tech addiction crisis. They explore how attention-economy algorithms manipulate behavior, making harm and misinformation prevalent. Adam Alter highlights the design hooks that keep users hooked on video games and social media. The conversation reveals real-life stories of addiction and emphasizes the need for families to shift focus from blame to strategies for resisting tech. The Quittr app offers a community-driven path to recovery.
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Widespread Severe Impact
- Tech addiction affects millions and causes grave social and functional harm across ages.
- Adam Alter warns it ruins relationships, work, and family life.
Attention Economy Harms
- Algorithms reward attention, prioritizing hate, harm, and disinformation because they're more engaging.
- Kaitlyn Regehr frames users as the product whose attention is sold to advertisers.
Brain Changes Mirror Drug Addiction
- Behavioral addictions show the same brain changes as substance addictions, notably dopamine desensitization.
- Dr. Christina Brezing explains tolerance drives longer, more extreme seeking of rewards.
