The Lancet Says the Problem Is Design. We Make Apps. Let's Talk About That.

The Lancet Says the Problem Is Design. We Make Apps. Let's Talk About That.

Published October 5, 2026 · Apprika Labs

Photo via Unsplash.

What the research actually says

We build apps. Over 50 of them, with about 931,000 downloads. So this one landed close to home.

We're not doctors, so here's the short, careful version, drawn from the coverage.

• The series rests on an umbrella review of 2,790 studies.
• The strongest links to harm were with addiction-like use, not raw hours on a screen.
• Those harms include depression, anxiety, poor sleep and less physical activity.
• The authors are clear that the evidence shows links, not proven cause and effect.
• They argue age limits alone won't fix it, and call for rules on the business models and design features that profit from attention.

That last point is the one we can't dodge. It isn't about users having weak willpower. It's about choices people like us make at a whiteboard.

Where we have to be honest

For years, we judged our apps by downloads, daily users and session length. Those are the numbers app stores reward and investors ask about. We chased them like everyone else.

Most of our apps are tools: invoices, bookings, scanning. They're not built to be scrolled. But we'd be lying if we said we never asked, "how do we get people to open this more?" That question, asked often enough, is how a useful tool turns into a habit machine.

We never built an infinite feed. We also never had a written rule against it. That gap matters.

What we've changed

The research gave words to something we'd been circling. So here's what we hold ourselves to now, in our own apps and in client work.

• Measure jobs done, not minutes spent. A good invoicing app gets you out in two minutes. If time-in-app goes up, we ask why before we celebrate.
• Notifications must earn their place. Each one has to help the user, not the dashboard.
• No dark patterns. No fake urgency, no guilt-trip buttons, no cancel flows designed to exhaust you.
• Extra care with young users. Anything kids touch gets stricter defaults and no engagement loops.
• Say it out loud. If a client asks for a feature that hooks rather than helps, we'll tell them, and explain the risk.

Why this matters to your business

If you run a company, this isn't only a parenting debate. Regulation tends to follow research like this. Canada already has PIPEDA, and Québec's Law 25 sets a higher bar on personal data. Building ethically now is cheaper than rebuilding under a new law later.

There's also a plainer reason. Customers are getting wise. Tools that respect their time keep their trust. Tools that farm their attention get deleted, then reviewed badly, then replaced.

How we work with businesses now

Apprika Labs is a Canadian AI, app and software studio. Our roots are in consumer apps. We're newer to business clients, and Skolr, an education platform, is our first B2B contract. Education is exactly where these questions bite hardest, and we take that seriously.

We offer:

• App and software builds designed around tasks finished, not time captured.
• AI that answers questions and gets out of the way.
• Forward deployed engineers who work inside your team.
• AI Training for your staff.

If you want software your customers are glad to close, let's talk.

Questions people ask

What did the Lancet screen time research find?

It linked addiction-like digital media use, more than total screen time, to harms such as depression, anxiety and poor sleep in young people. The authors note the evidence shows association, not proven cause.

What is addictive app design?

Features built to keep you using an app past the point it helps you: endless feeds, autoplay, streaks that punish breaks, and constant alerts.

Can business apps be addictive?

Less often, but yes. Any app measured mainly by time spent can drift that way. Measuring tasks completed is a good guard.

Does Canadian law regulate app design?

Not design directly yet. PIPEDA and Québec's Law 25 govern personal data, and the Lancet authors are calling for more rules on design itself.

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