Answer Addiction

Tag: technology

  • Dealers Remain An Issue On Instagram Despite Crackdown Efforts

    Dealers Remain An Issue On Instagram Despite Crackdown Efforts

    The company is now working to make treatment options more readily visible as well with their new “Can we help?” pop-up.

    After repeatedly fielding allegations that their platforms helped fuel the opioid crisis, Facebook and Instagram are now taking extra steps to combat social media drug-selling and help divert users into treatment. 

    Last month Facebook announced plans to redirect drug-seeking social media users to a help box offering support suggestions and, months after blocking targeted hashtags, Instagram recently decided to take a similar approach. 

    “As part of Instagram’s commitment to be the kindest, safest social network, we’re launching a new pop-up within the app that offers to connect people with information about free and confidential treatment options, as well as information about substance use, prevention and recovery,” a spokesperson for the photo-sharing platform told TechCrunch in a statement.

    Social media community guidelines generally ban selling drugs online, but dealers have brazenly skirted those guidelines and the law, listing their goods online with relevant hashtags to attract would-be buyers.

    The growing trend sparked condemnation from Food and Drug Administration commissioner Scott Gottlieb earlier this year. 

    “Internet firms simply aren’t taking practical steps to find and remove these illegal opioid listings,” Gottlieb said in a speech at the National Rx Drug Abuse and Heroin Summit in April, according to Engadget. “There’s ample evidence of narcotics being advertised and sold online. I know that internet firms are reluctant to cross a threshold, where they could find themselves taking on a broader policing role. But these are insidious threats being propagated on these web platforms.”

    Instagram initially responded by shutting down potentially problematic search phrases like #fentanyl and #oxycontin—but dealers just shifted to unblocked hashtags instead.

    Then in August, Facebook took action by adding a “Can we help?” pop-up offering links for treatment referrals to anyone searching certain drug-related phrases like “buy OxyContin” or “buy Xanax.” At the same time, the company blocked words like “OxyContin” and “Xanax” from turning up any search results for Pages and Groups. (However, it’s still possible to find profile accounts with drugs included in the user name—such as the many users who simply list “Oxy Contin” as their names.) 

    Then in recent weeks, Instagram reevaluated its blocking-only approach.

    “Blocking hashtags has its drawbacks,” Instagram told TechCrunch. “In some cases, we are removing the communities of support that help people struggling with opioid or substance misuse.” 

    Although those blocked hashtags will stay blocked, now the company is working to make treatment options more readily visible as well with their new “Can we help?” pop-up.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • New Apple Technology Aims To Address Tech Addiction

    New Apple Technology Aims To Address Tech Addiction

    “There’s clearly users out there worried about the amount of time they’re spending, or the amount of distraction or interruptions that they get. So we thought really deeply about this,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook.

    Smartphones have been blamed for the fact that many people are increasingly reliant on technology, spending hours each day swiping and scrolling. However, the newest software unveiled this week by Apple aims to address concerns over technology addiction by helping iPhone users to more tightly control the time they spend on their phones. 

    According to the LA Times, two features in particular aim to help people break from the constant temptation to pick up their phones. Apple started by updating the “Do Not Disturb” setting on the iPhone, which allows people to keep their phones on without receiving noise from notifications. 

    Apple also introduced a new feature called Screen Time. This gives users an activity report showing how much time they’re spending on individual apps, how often they pick up their phone and which apps are sending them the most notifications. People can limit the time that they are able to spend on certain apps, and when the time limit is reached the iPhone will not let them access the apps unless they change the setting. 

    “There’s clearly users out there that are worried about the amount of time they’re spending, or the amount of distraction or interruptions that they get. So we thought really deeply about this,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said in an interview with NPR. “Essentially it’s about giving you insight, so you know how much time you’re spending, where you’re spending it, how many times per hour you’re picking up a device, how many notifications you get, who’s sending those to you.”

    This can empower the user to make their own decision about limiting technology use, he said. 

    “Right now we can all almost kid ourselves a bit about how much time we’re spending, and whether we’re distracted or not. There’s nothing like getting a report of facts to see what is happening to you,” he said. 

    Asked if he believes that the term “addiction” is appropriate when it comes to technology, Cook hesitated. “I’m not a clinician and so, uh, I don’t know. What I do know is, that you can use something too much. And I know some users are—I don’t know really what percentage, but I know some users are concerned about it. And I’m concerned about it.”

    He rejected the idea of technology as a social ill, but did say that users need to be aware of how their tech use is impacting their lives.  

    “I think there are cases in life where anything good, used to the extreme, becomes not good,” he said. 

    In addition to empowering users, the new technology will enhance parental controls, something that is important for many parents who worry about their teens’ use of technology. 

    “Parents are obviously very interested in having this for their kids as well,” Cook said. “We’ve been doing things for parental control since the creation of the App Store, but this gives parents another huge tool to use.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • FDA Challenges Developers To Make Better Pain Treatment Devices

    FDA Challenges Developers To Make Better Pain Treatment Devices

    For an innovation challenge, the FDA is looking for devices that provide more benefits than opioids, with fewer risks. 

    The Food and Drug Administration wants better options available for treating pain—and it is turning to developers for help. 

    The FDA announced this week that it is running a new innovation challenge for medical devices that provide solutions to detecting, treating and preventing addiction, addressing drug diversion and treating pain.

    Applications will be accepted through September, and the developers of devices that are chosen will be able to work closely with the FDA to bring their product to market. 

    “Medical devices, including digital health devices like mobile medical apps, have the potential to play a unique and important role in tackling the opioid crisis. We must advance new ways to find tools to help address the human and financial toll of opioid addiction,” said FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, M.D. 

    Gottlieb hopes that by encouraging the development of medical devices, fewer patients will need to rely on opioid pain relief, which has a high risk of addiction. 

    “For example, better medical devices that can effectively address local pain syndromes can, in some cases, supplant the use of systemic opioids. This can help reduce overall use of opioids,” he said. 

    Finding replacements for opioids is an important piece of confronting the opioid epidemic, he added. 

    “This innovation challenge is an example of the FDA’s commitment to an all-of-the-above approach to confront the opioid epidemic, including helping those currently addicted to opioids and preventing new cases of addiction,” he said. “We’re hopeful that in collaborating with public health-minded innovators, we can identify and accelerate the development of new technologies, whether a device, diagnostic test, mobile medical app, or even new clinical decision support software, that can contribute in novel and effective ways to help reduce the scope of this crisis.”

    Developers can submit devices that are in any stage of development, including the concept phase. The FDA will be looking for devices that provide more benefits than opioids, with fewer risks. 

    In 2012, the FDA ran a similar innovation challenge that helped develop and bring to market new ways of treating renal disease, said Jeff Shuren, director of the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health. He hopes this challenge will have similar results. 

    “The FDA stands ready to provide significant assistance and expedite premarket review of applications to help bring innovative devices that, if properly instituted, could help those at risk for addiction or treat those who might develop opioid use disorder,” he said. “We also hope that in turn these novel products may also help pave the way for the development of future products that build on the latest technologies.”

    View the original article at thefix.com