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People have short attention spans. It was not so very long ago (and indeed it is still quite common today) when the standard way that one "lived" their life was
by InclinedPlane 8y ago
People have short attention spans. It was not so very long ago (and indeed it is still quite common today) when the standard way that one "lived" their life was to spend 8 hours a day at work and then most of the remainder watching television.
Yes, compared to the ideal, having your nose in your phone to the detriment of all other activities is undesirable, but compared to the actuality of what came before it might be an improvement.
- jsemrau 8y agoI would counter argument that in the past TV was a shared experience while staring at one's phone is a single experience.
- InclinedPlane 8y agoI would counter-counter argue that using a smartphone is much more of a social experience than TV, and can be less interruptive as well. Much of the time when people are using their phones they are socializing asynchronously or synchronously with their friends and family. They are following what's happening in their lives through twitter, facebook, instagram, etc. They are keeping in touch through instant messaging (on facebook, through google hangouts, texting, what-have-you). They are keeping up with current news and events. They are keeping themselves informed, etc. And in terms of the presence of media in the physical space sometimes watching TV with others can be a social experience, but it can also be an anti-social experience by draining attention away from conversations and by having something of interest going on that can't easily be interrupted or paused to do something else. Whereas smartphone use can more often be interrupted or paused. My own anecdotal experience is that television is much worse of an attention hog than smartphones, on average.