• by P.J. Bednarski  @pjbtweet, May 10, 2018

Band-Aid has slapped new labeling on its handy-sized travel packs. Now on one side of the packaging, they are called “Untappables.” 

The label instruction reads, “To deter social media usage, apply pad to forefinger and thumb.”

Ironically, a Band-Aids video is now showing — but only on social media. 

There’s also a website, Untappables.com, that includes a four-part diagram that shows cellphone addicts how to apply Band-Aids, and more testimonials from Millennial-ish smartphone users confessing the tech monkey they’ve got on their backs.

The site also hides a little piece of information bloody-serious bandage wearers will like to hear: “Sorry, the limited-edition packs are gone. But you can still take the Untappables challenge with a Flexible Fabric Band-Aid Brand Bandage.” 

The :30 commercial urges viewers to “start your digital detox.” A husband and wife lament the lack of the good old “awkward silence” days when couples momentarily ran out of things to say. Now they go to their phones to “look at nothing,” the husband says, forlornly. 

With Americans spending more than fours of each day on their smartphones, and 77% of Americans owning one, the Untappables ad does speak to a large group who often don’t speak to each other. 

Though smartphone addiction may seem more real to writers who follow the latest trends than psychologists and other professionals, there is real concern. In January, two of Apple’s largest investors — the California State Teachers Retirement System and Jana Partners LLC —publicized an open letter they sent urging the iPhone giant to use its “dominant market position” to give parents and children some help about proper use of it products.