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The early criticism was overblown, but I think there is a slow, gradual degradation of social values when ubiquitous technology allows people to disengage easil
by allenu 1y ago
The early criticism was overblown, but I think there is a slow, gradual degradation of social values when ubiquitous technology allows people to disengage easily.
I remember being annoyed when a coworker had AirPods on constantly, even when conversing with other people. Obviously we could have a conversation, but it felt like they didn't value it enough to give it their full attention (I don't doubt the music was turned off, though).
In the early days when everyone was starting to get smartphones, there were lots of memes about people staring at their phones constantly and maybe walking into traffic or bumping into people. Constant smartphone use has been normalized now (for better or worse). In the early days, people felt bad when they pulled out their phone to look something up during a conversation, but that behavior is no longer looked down on. It doesn't feel rude if somebody breaks out their phone mid-conversation and starts scrolling for a little bit.
- budding2141 1y ago>but it felt like they didn't value it enough to give I still feel like this. >It doesn't feel rude if somebody breaks out their phone mid-conversation and starts scrolling for a little bit. And I do not agree about this either. Also, I think most of the people I spend my time with would also agree. But perhaps I'm (unfortunately) an outlier.
- watwut 1y agoNot putting headphones down or just scrolling during conversation is considered rude around me. It is ok to scroll to find info about something you discuss, it is ok to scroll when not conversing during longer trip etc ... but it is not ok to just take phone out mid conversation and scroll a bit.
- biker142541 1y ago>It doesn't feel rude if somebody breaks out their phone mid-conversation and starts scrolling for a little bit. This feels incredibly rude, and I honestly don’t know anyone who would not consider this rude.
- allenu 1y agoYeah, I think you're right. I didn't phrase it quite right. Arbitrarily scrolling in mid-conversation is rude, but somebody picking up their phone to look something up or read a text message now happens without a big fuss, whereas before, I think people were more likely to apologize for the action. It's acceptable to just pick up your phone now to look up something or check your messages during a conversation in a lull. On the other hand, I see couples seated together in restaurants just scrolling their phones privately at the same table, so generally it seems like it's more "okay" to disengage to your technology.
- ryandrake 1y ago> It's acceptable to just pick up your phone now to look up something or check your messages during a conversation in a lull. I certainly wouldn't find that to be acceptable at all, and if someone I was with did that, I would ask them politely if they had something more important they needed to be doing, and if they wanted to postpone our catch up until later when they weren't as busy.
- lucyjojo 1y agoI guess it would be region and age dependent. As social norms tend to be.
- dfxm12 1y agoObviously we could have a conversation, it felt like they didn't value it enough to give it their full attention (I don't doubt the music was turned off, though). This says more about you than them. What was the point? To have a conversation or to get your coworker to behave a certain way? You're annoyed at arbitrary aesthetics, as if this person didn't show enough deference to your preferences, even though you were sure they turned off their music and you were able to have a conversation.
- tomjen3 1y agoThe part about the airpods is something that is going to change very soon: now that they are officially approved as hearing aids, asking someone to remove them, or even creating the expectation that one does will get you into Ada territory.
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- Nasrudith 1y agoHave you seen the photos of commuter trains and buses filled with everyone looking at a newspaper? The tech required for that isn't even that high, just a ubiquitous printing press will do.