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Smartphones rob users of the ability to communicate person-to-person. Visit any restaurant and you'll find example after example of people worshiping at their

by apo 7y ago

Smartphones rob users of the ability to communicate person-to-person. Visit any restaurant and you'll find example after example of people worshiping at their private electronic altars despite the presence of friends and family. Or try having a conversation with almost anyone with a smartphone. The minute a notification goes off, they're gone. Master calls, bye. It's a vicious cycle. Greater isolation leads to greater dependence on the fake bullshit being spewed. It's kind of comical to see geezers doing this. But to see it in young adults is terrifying. They're going to fight this addiction until the day they die. Most won't even know what's wrong with their lives because they've never seen anything else.

Ishmaeli 7y ago
Most won't even know what's wrong with their lives because they've never seen anything else. I feel like that's something every older generation says about the younger generations. Why should the younger generations care about ways of living that are no longer relevant to them? If nobody knows that they're doing it wrong, then are they really doing it wrong?
- neuralRiot 7y ago
  Technology changes but the human nature at the core does not, we are a social animal and we need to live in packs where communication, verbal and nonverbal are key, it's not just cultural but primal, i see it everyday, people don't know how to socialize or communicate anymore and that leads to isolation and depression.
buboard 7y ago
The causation is the other way around though. People and local societies grew apart decades ago, and the norms changed. The culture of isolation of big multicultural cities slowly became increasingly common and people stopped talking in the bus/train. The phone fit nicely into this trend and reinforced it, but i dont think the trend is reversible by removing the phone.
xisukar 7y ago
It's unfortunately a bleak reality. I like to think all people with their heads buried in their phones, even when walking down/crossing the street, are talking with a loved one but the constant swiping in all imaginable directions leads me to believe it's not the case. I know technology isn't inherently good or bad. In most circumstances, it's a matter of how it's applied. However, I feel something that could be best described as disdain for it. For instance, I've been able to read several books on my phone but I feel that doing so might throw me in the same category of people who use their phones for what might be one of its most common uses, self-reinforced and mindless consumption. For instance, I honestly cannot think of something I hate but I truly despise those bite-sized videos with the loud music which are even auto-scrolling and it seems almost everyone watch/listen to them everywhere (subway, bus, etc.). Regarding the conversation part, you hit the nail on the head. Notifications and phone engagement seem to be gaining a foothold and being prioritized over person-to-person communication. The following story is totally anecdotal but something I couldn't help but notice. In one of my college classes last semester, I estimate that roughly 80% students were immersed on their phones right from the start of the class up to the end with the occasional look to the whiteboard or writing something down. It went to the extent that even the professor remarked, ten minutes before the class starting, (and I'm paraphrasing here) that it was sad he didn't see the students sharing/talking with each other and I'm sure you might guess one of the reasons. I don't know if this is only me but I for once don't like to grab the attention of people buried in their phones because I feel I'm being too intrusive and interrupting something intimate. And I understand this might not be at all true but that's the perception I get, which seems to be so different to other mediums. For instance, I might build up the courage and strike a conversation with someone reading a book because there might be a starting point of conversation but unless necessary, that's a no-no if the same person is using a smartphone.
brainwad 7y ago
There isn't anything wrong with our lives. People of older generations spent all their time yakking on the phone and watching TV. We just do that more efficiently - we're still communicating with people on the other end of the internet, after all.

by apo 7y ago

Ishmaeli 7y ago

Most won't even know what's wrong with their lives because they've never seen anything else. I feel like that's something every older generation says about the younger generations. Why should the younger generations care about ways of living that are no longer relevant to them? If nobody knows that they're doing it wrong, then are they really doing it wrong?

neuralRiot 7y ago
Technology changes but the human nature at the core does not, we are a social animal and we need to live in packs where communication, verbal and nonverbal are key, it's not just cultural but primal, i see it everyday, people don't know how to socialize or communicate anymore and that leads to isolation and depression.

buboard 7y ago

The causation is the other way around though. People and local societies grew apart decades ago, and the norms changed. The culture of isolation of big multicultural cities slowly became increasingly common and people stopped talking in the bus/train. The phone fit nicely into this trend and reinforced it, but i dont think the trend is reversible by removing the phone.

xisukar 7y ago

It's unfortunately a bleak reality. I like to think all people with their heads buried in their phones, even when walking down/crossing the street, are talking with a loved one but the constant swiping in all imaginable directions leads me to believe it's not the case. I know technology isn't inherently good or bad. In most circumstances, it's a matter of how it's applied. However, I feel something that could be best described as disdain for it. For instance, I've been able to read several books on my phone but I feel that doing so might throw me in the same category of people who use their phones for what might be one of its most common uses, self-reinforced and mindless consumption. For instance, I honestly cannot think of something I hate but I truly despise those bite-sized videos with the loud music which are even auto-scrolling and it seems almost everyone watch/listen to them everywhere (subway, bus, etc.). Regarding the conversation part, you hit the nail on the head. Notifications and phone engagement seem to be gaining a foothold and being prioritized over person-to-person communication. The following story is totally anecdotal but something I couldn't help but notice. In one of my college classes last semester, I estimate that roughly 80% students were immersed on their phones right from the start of the class up to the end with the occasional look to the whiteboard or writing something down. It went to the extent that even the professor remarked, ten minutes before the class starting, (and I'm paraphrasing here) that it was sad he didn't see the students sharing/talking with each other and I'm sure you might guess one of the reasons. I don't know if this is only me but I for once don't like to grab the attention of people buried in their phones because I feel I'm being too intrusive and interrupting something intimate. And I understand this might not be at all true but that's the perception I get, which seems to be so different to other mediums. For instance, I might build up the courage and strike a conversation with someone reading a book because there might be a starting point of conversation but unless necessary, that's a no-no if the same person is using a smartphone.

brainwad 7y ago

There isn't anything wrong with our lives. People of older generations spent all their time yakking on the phone and watching TV. We just do that more efficiently - we're still communicating with people on the other end of the internet, after all.