Over the past couple of weeks, I have been noticing, more
and more, how much communications technology has been changing us over the past
5, 10, and 20 years. I started thinking about this when I saw an Internet meme
that showed a young adult walking in a suburban area. The top caption caption
said “Darn! I forgot my phone. I guess I’ll just pretend it’s the 90s!” The
bottom caption said “….wow, the 90s sucked.” This is clearly a play on how
attached we are as a society to our digital devices. Even something as simple
as taking a walk can become a mundane and boring task without a smartphone.
Since I saw this meme, I have been thinking more and more about its
implications. I would like to share several examples of how I think we, as a
society, may be becoming too dependent on being connected (myself included.)
The other day I was on my way to go to grab some lunch, and
I realizes after about 10 minutes of walking that I forgot my phone. Without
thinking, I turned around and went back to my apartment to get my phone. On my
way back, I was thinking about how silly this seemed. I took time out of my day
and walked well out of my way just so I could ensure I wouldn’t lose my
connection with the world.
And this doesn’t seem to be an issue with only the younger
generations. I visited my family this past weekend for a birthday party.
Everyone had their iPhone on the table right next to them and grabbed at it as
soon as a notification popped up. I seem to remember that 5 or 10 years ago
during a family gathering, everyone’s phones would be in a central pile. After
all, why would anyone need their cell phone while they are spending time with
their family? Go back 15 or 20 years, and it would be rare to find anyone
within a group of people who even owned a cell phone. Nevertheless, with the
advent of smartphones and the idea of always being connected, we all seem to
need our mobile devices clutched at our sides at all times.
I was out at a bar and I had forgotten to charge my phone
for the second time today. (I leave it plugged in when I go to bed and then by
about 7 or 8 pm it could use a little more time on the charger.) As the night
went on, my battery percentage became lower and lower until my screen went
black. Whatever, I thought, I’m out with friends and don’t really need to be
using my phone anyway. Even still, I couldn’t break the habit of checking my
phone for notifications every few minutes, even though I knew it was dead. It
has become such a force of habit to make sure we are up to date on the latest
happenings within our social circles that I actually forgot, multiple times,
that my phone ran out of battery.
Taking a step back, is this really such a bad thing? I think
that if it doesn’t interfere with face-to-face social interaction, it’s not a
bad thing. I’m very much an advocate for communication technology, and I think
it’s wonderful to be able to fill the gaps between face-to-face interaction
with other forms of communications media. However, many people take this too
far and become antisocial even when they have real face time with friends or
family. I worry that the trend we see today will continue, and people will
become more and more dependent on being constantly connected.
I completely agree with everything you are saying. I am guilty of only having 12% battery life left and scrambling to find a charger to try to prevent it from dying. But being out and about with your phone does give you a sense of security, if something was to go wrong you would be able to call someone to help. The part about interfering with face to face social interaction I think will become more and more of a problem. Maybe not with us and a few years younger but with the kids in elementary school today. There are 2nd and 3rd graders with iphones and ipads. So I wonder if it will limit their growth of social interaction or actually benefit them? I guess only time will tell.
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