Technology journalist and host of the For Tech's Sake podcast, Elaine Burke, joined Laura Fox on RTÉ2FM to discuss the apps helping users to battle addiction and change behaviours. Listen back above.
Quittr, explains Elaine, is an app for those who want to "retrain their porn consumption and make it a bit healthier".
With over 350,000 downloads in more than 20 countries, the app is said to be making approximately $250,000 a month in recurring revenue from users who have subscribed to the service.
In order to change people's habits, the app has gamified its product, giving users the opportunity to earn badges and build up 'streaks' as they use it.
They also have a 'panic button' feature that will provide grounding techniques for those struggling in the moment.
"You feel the urge, you hit the panic button, and that provides you with what's called real-time interventions," she explains.
These interventions range from box-breathing and observational techniques to providing motivational content and 'healthy' distractions.
Costing €50 for a year's subscription, Elaine says that although this is a "fairly new app", she has seen positive feedback from users. However, she points out that there will always be a conflict of interest within any subscription service when it comes to signs of success.
In terms of curbing habits and beating addiction, seeing the apps downloaded for one year and then deleted may be a great sign. In a business sense, though, a long-term subscription and ongoing revenue are always more favourable.
"Sometimes their business model is incompatible with you moving away from the service, and moving on, and being the person that the app is promising that you can become," she explains.
As well as earning revenue from subscription fees, Elaine points out that companies are likely happy to log your habits.
"The data they can get on what motivates you, what actually makes you take an action - that's so valuable," she says. "This is so much more than what your browsing habits are and what you're interested in."
The tech journalist makes it clear that she is not accusing any individual apps of any particular behaviour, but says that the habit-forming nature of design is often part and parcel of these types of wellness-based services.
While apps under the healthcare industry will likely fall under certain regulations, wellness is a broad term that can often go unchecked: "In that space there's a lot of... stuff," she says.
Sleep trackers, for example, are an area of fascination for the tech podcaster, who says she found herself even more stressed about the quality and quantity of her sleep cycles when she used digital devices.
In the end, it was simple lifestyle changes (such as cutting caffeine) that helped her the most.
Ultimately, with so many apps and AI tools out there to 'help' us improve our sleep, learn languages, run 5ks, track our body's data, and even give us 15-minute summaries of books and podcasts, Elaine believes that we have been sold the idea that humans are "mathematical problems that can be solved with the right metric".
The reality, of course, is that we are much messier and more complex, and that our lives are - hopefully - too busy and colourful for any app to truly track.
"I'm no psychologist," she notes, "I just personally think this gamification of health and wellbeing and even therapy and stuff like that is to be taken with a pinch of salt. Everything in moderation."
If you have been affected by issues raised in this story, please visit: www.rte.ie/helplines.
