NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Open your phone and check your screen time. That number — whatever it is — is part of the reason data centers are being proposed in neighborhoods across Middle Tennessee.
Last year, Americans spent an average of more than 5 hours a day on their phones, up from 4.5 hours the year before, according to Harmony Healthcare IT. Multiplied across millions of people, that appetite for data is exactly what is being satisfied in communities around Nashville as new data centers pop up.
Lipscomb University Cybersecurity and AI professor Ken Mayer has questions about one proposed data center near the Nashville Zoo.
"Why aren't they building it outside of town, why does it have to be in that area," Mayer said.
But Mayer concedes they have to be built somewhere. And he acknowledged his own screen time — along with everyone elses in Nashville — plays a role in the demand driving these projects.
Could putting our phones down more be part of the answer?
"Yeah I don't see that happening, we as society have been so ingrained in our phones, even putting our phone down is not going to be enough," Mayer said.
Mayer drew a comparison to the optimistic vision of the future portrayed in the classic animated series "The Jetsons" — a show that imagined flying cars and household robots, but never the infrastructure required to power it all.
"Watching this as a kid, we didn't think about the data centers we would need, right?" Mayer said.
Mayer said even the show's creators likely never saw this coming.
"Oh heavens no! That's really funny to ask that. They're definitely ones who would not have seen that coming and I don't think WE saw it coming," Mayer said.
The data center debate is playing out on multiple fronts across Nashville. Mayor Freddie O'Connell has announced the city will move to take land near the Nashville Zoo through eminent domain for a proposed data center, arguing the property serves a greater public purpose. A separate community meeting is also scheduled regarding a data center proposed for Fisk University's campus, hosted by the NAACP and featuring State Senator Charlane Oliver and Metro Councilmember Brandon Taylor.
Check your screen time right now. What's your number? I'd love to hear from you — and if data centers are coming to your neighborhood, reach out to me at Jason.Lamb@NewsChannel5.com
In this article, we used artificial intelligence to help us convert a video news report originally written by Jason Lamb. When using this tool, both Jason and the NewsChannel 5 editorial team checked all the facts in the article to make sure it is fair and accurate before we published it. We care about your trust in us and where you get your news, and using this tool allows us to convert our news coverage into different formats so we can quickly reach you where you like to consume information. It also lets our journalists spend more time looking into your story ideas, listening to you and digging into the stories that matter.
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