On the Lighter Side

A Gorilla at a Chicago zoo became transfixed by visitors' phones. What does the primate’s enchantment with screens tell us about ourselves?

• Amare, a 415-pound gorilla at a Chicago zoo, got so into the habit of staring at visitors' smartphones, that he once failed to notice when another gorilla lunged at him in a show of aggression.
• That level of distraction got zookeepers concerned about how Amare’s phone preoccupation was affecting the primate’s well-being. So they recently moved to cut down on Amare’s screen time.
• First, zookeepers installed a rope line to keep humans at a distance. They also asked visitors to be mindful that too much exposure to screens was potentially harming the gorillas socially.
• But what about the effect on the gorillas’ evolutionary cousins—human beings? There’s growing awareness of the harmful effects of too much screen time and overuse of social media.
• Apps like WhatsApp, Facebook and TikTok are designed to be addictive—to keep eyes on the screen. The cost of semi-permanent distraction of humans is incalculable.
• Today, we present a few articles about Amare, and what we could learn from the gorilla's story. By the way, zookeepers already report positive changes to Amare’s behavior with reduced screen time.