The "attention economy"—a business model that monetizes user attention itself as a resource—has long been the standard in Silicon Valley. But now, the backlash is approaching a critical point. Criticism of the "dark patterns" that encourage addiction has led to discussions about regulation, and calls for a new relationship with technology are beginning to rise from within the industry itself.

We're excited to announce the first wave of products on 2025’s Calm Tech Certified™ list, our program which evaluates and benchmarks products that prioritize customer well-being.

Humans and technology have worked alongside each other for thousands of years. It is only recently that technology has been forcing...