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Is Your Phone the Reason You Feel Broke?
Article

Is Your Phone the Reason You Feel Broke?

The smartphone economy is booming — and it also feels awful.

John Herrman
New York Magazine, 2023
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7

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Recommendation

The smartphone brings together entertainment and new forms of communication and commerce. But it’s also an expensive necessity, particularly for services and features that compel you to buy. Journalist John Herrman explores why, with economic indicators on the rise and inflation on the decline, Americans feel economically insecure. He explains how the smartphone has become a utility with bells and whistles that demand your attention — and your spending — daily.

Summary

A more complex narrative underlies Americans’ mixed feelings about the economy.

Americans feel economic pain in their wallets. On one hand, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and other financial metrics suggest that today’s economy is thriving. On the other, people express justified concern about home prices and rents that remain stubbornly high, even after interest rates stopped climbing. Officials stress the positive outcomes, while consumer sentiment remains negative.

Conventional metrics of economic activity no longer dictate how individuals perceive their financial conditions. The role...

About the Author

John Herrman writes about technology for New York Magazine’s The Intelligencer.

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