Technology is increasingly present in our lives. Part of that spread reflects the embedding of technology in daily life, whether it's integrating digital circuitry into once "dumb" objects or our reliance on communications devices. There is, however, another more disturbing reason for that presence: addiction. Research shows that technology — and the cellphone in particular — has an increasingly powerful pull and exhibits increasingly worrisome effects on human behavior.

This concern is not new. Researchers have for years warned of the troubling side effects of technology: sleeplessness, depression, shortened attention spans and antisocial behavior. This problem has assumed new attention after two major investors in Apple — New York-based Jana Partners LLC and the California State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS), which together control $2 billion of Apple stock — released an open letter calling on the firm to do more to fight technology addiction. The letter cited the "developing consensus around the world ... that the potential long-term consequences of new technologies need to be factored in at the outset, and no company can outsource that responsibility to an app designer. ..."

Apple replied that it cares deeply "about how our products are used and the impact they have on users and the people around them." It should and it must, as should other hardware designers and app developers.