--- title: "Zoos Concerned as Gorillas Become Hooked on Smartphone Videos" description: "Zookeepers now have a new issue when it comes to their gorilla charges: limiting their smartphone screen time. " date: "2024-07-25" modified: "2024-07-25" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/zoos-gorillas-smartphones" categories: - "Science & Energy" tags: - "gorillas" - "smartphones" - "the digest" - "zoos" --- # Zoos Concerned as Gorillas Become Hooked on Smartphone Videos ![Zookeepers now have a new issue when it comes to their gorilla charges: limiting their smartphone screen time. ]() *\Image: Pablo Morano / Anadolu via Getty / Futurism\* ## Now Screening Zookeepers now have a new issue when it comes to their gorilla charges: limiting their screen time. As the [*Wall Street Journal* reports](), zoos across North America have begun trying to curb the animals' obsession with smartphones, which has occurred in recent years as more and more visitors began showing them images and videos on screens, through the glass walls of their enclosures. For the past few years, [reports about gorillas]() — which share [96 percent of our DNA]() and, like us, are often enamored with seeing imagery of themselves on screens — becoming obsessed or even "[addicted]()" to smartphones have begun emerging out of zoos in major cities. In Toronto, for instance, zoo officials began putting up signs last year urging visitors not to show their smartphones to the animals, who are often so riveted that it begins to [change their behavior]() as they seek out more and more screen time from the humans they encounter. "For the wellbeing of gorilla troop," warned one sign, [per a *People* article]() about the ask, "please refrain from showing them any videos or photos as some content can be upsetting and affect their relationships and behavior within their family." ## Animal Nature At San Diego's famous zoo, *WSJ* reporters observed — as if inside an exhibit themselves — thrilled human visitors showing their phone screens to expectant gorillas despite such interaction being "strongly" discouraged by zoo officials. Indeed, self-described "gorilla groupies" come to the San Diego Zoo on a near-daily basis to not only film the animals, but show them videos as well. Two enthusiasts that the newspaper spoke to refused to give their names out of concerns about being barred from the zoo or the gorilla enclosures should they be found out. "This is my happy place," a man who was seen wearing a gorilla shirt and engaging with one of the animals by showing him his smartphone through the glass, told the *WSJ*. A woman who spoke to the newspaper, meanwhile, began tearing up when she considered losing access to the gorilla enclosure, insisting that "any enrichment is good enrichment." Conservationist Beth Armstrong, who pioneered an early gorilla program at the Columbus Zoo in the 1980s, told the *WSJ* that she wishes people would choose to put their phones down and experience the wonder of these animals rather than inundating them with such distracting human technology. "I get that people want that sort of connection," Armstrong said. "But the reality is: What does it do for the gorilla?" **More on zoos:** [*Endangered Primates Heard “Singing Together” After Rare Birth in Captivity*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()