Evolutionary Mismatch:

https://thelivingfossils.substack.com/p/why-the-computer-is-an-anxiety-machine

Josh Zlatkus:

"Evolutionary mismatch is a broad concept in psychology that can explain a lot. The basic idea is that a significant portion of human misery and sickness results from living in ways—and in environments for which—our minds and bodies were not designed. ... For example, I am still routinely surprised by how much more difficult and frustrating writing is than speaking. Evolutionary mismatch is a big reason. Throughout most of human history, communication was synchronous and unmediated. It was conducted among relatively few, mostly familiar people in a mixed form—as in, we spoke and gesticulated at the same time. Writing turns these traditional parameters on their head. This post is:

asynchronous (you’re reading this well after I’ve written it)

mediated (by, perhaps, the computer?!)

intended for mostly strangers (no offense; I’m sure you’re lovely)

text-only (well, there are some pictures, but you get my point)

Why do we put up with this? Why endure the costs of evolutionary mismatches, such as writing, at all? The basic answer is: because in many cases, outcomes are improved. Take Guns, Germs, and Steel as an example. Jared Diamond describes the impetus of the book as a question a friend asked him once about why Europe conquered the New World and not the other way around. If Diamond had replied to his friend’s question then and there—with speech—his answer would have been far less comprehensive than the book that resulted.

...


Now, the thing about these people at cocktail parties—otherwise known as “my friends”—is that the majority of them spend most of their waking hours hunched over a computer or phone. That’s a pretty big deal considering that humans prior to the 20th century never spent any time at all on digital devices. Most of my friends (and clients) are acutely aware of the negative effects of these devices and routinely complain about them, but don’t seem able to do anything about it. To me, that suggests the presence of evolutionary mismatch, no different from knowing that we shouldn’t eat a bag of Doritos, and then eating a bag of Doritos. But unlike some of the more straightforward mismatches we’ve discussed, the computer is a more complicated example because at least two separate forces are at work.

The first is regular old evolutionary mismatch. This includes all the ways in which the computer and related devices deliver an experience that humans aren’t equipped to handle, from blue light and the concentration of information, to two-dimensional interaction. The second concerns the market pressures to which digital devices have been subject. Similar to organisms, these devices and the programs they house have undergone a process of selection. Ironically, many of the ways our devices fail us is a result of what “we” have “chosen.” (Yes, eventually I’ll explain those air-quotes.) I mean, isn’t it a bit odd that we suffer so much at the hands of things we made—ostensibly—for our benefit?"