Your Smartphone Is a Parasite, According to Evolution

Head lice, fleas and tapeworms have been humanity’s companions throughout our evolutionary history. Yet, the greatest parasite of the modern age is no blood-sucking invertebrate. It is sleek, glass-fronted, and addictive by design. Its host? Every human on Earth with a wifi signal. Far from being benign tools, smartphones parasitise our time, our attention and our personal information, all in the interests of technology companies and their advertisers. In a new article in the Australasian Journal of Philosophy, we argue smartphones pose unique societal risks, which come into sharp focus when viewed through the lens of parasitism. What, exactly, is a parasite? Evolutionary biologists define a parasite as a species that benefits from a close relationship with another species – its host – while the host bears a cost. The head louse, for example, is entirely dependent on our own species for its survival. They only eat human blood, and if they become dislodged from their host, they sur ... Read full article.