I walked into my doctors busy waiting room and was amazed at how many people were sitting glued to their smart phones. No one even looked up to see who had entered. I probably could have been naked and they still wouldn’t have noticed. Although it probably would have cleared the room.I had the feeling I had walked into an episode of the Twilight Zone. It could have been about a group of people who were taken hostage by a giant computer conglomerate that had found a way to take over people’s minds through their cell phones and turned them into Zombies!
There was a time when people who were perfect strangers would interact when they were in a train station, airport, line, waiting room, etc. Not today! More often than not , you are left to witness individuals talking or texting on their phone. It’s really creepy when they’re talking out loud and you think they’re saying something to you. Then you notice the ear buds. I first witnessed this in an airport. I was standing next to a woman who seemed confused and kept saying ” Do you understand me?” I must have said “No, I don’t”, a bunch of times. Every time I responded she gave me a disgusted look as if there was something wrong with me. She finally blurted out “I’m on the phone”! Since I didn’t see the phone or her ear piece I surmised she was hallucinating and quickly moved far away.
I realize the era of technology is here to stay, but I’m hoping that we can become more pragmatic about how to use it. My fear is that we are losing sight of how to connect with each other unless we are dialoging through a gadget. I also worry that young teens are losing themselves in lieu of emulating so-called celebrities like the Kardashians, Justin Bieber and the like. Tweets have become analogous to self-worth. Getting lots of tweets or likes means you just might be attaining some digital fame. Posting everything and everything that might get a response has overtaken the need to embrace privacy. Real communication is being sidelined in deference to shorthand and pictures.
Whenever I mention any of the above in a workshop as one of the reasons we see more stress today, someone will always say “Well, what can you do?” One of the ways we can create better ways to connect is to demand it. Tell your friends and family that a quick text is fine but you would rather a phone call than going back and forth as if you’re co-authoring a biography. Don’t give up having face to face conversations. Your body/mind and spirit will thank you.
don’t buy a cell phone. I refuse to have one. Expensive inconvenience device.
If you don’t pay for cable and you watch only free over-the-air tv you won’t see the kardashians or the little twit with the tattoos. i.m.o. he is not hot :/ he is repulsive.
Thank you, all so very true!
Well said, Loretta! I am a teacher, and this concerns me very much. In many places around the country teachers are being forced to have their students use a computer for fixed amounts of time per day or per week. I have no problem with computers, but they are just one tool, and children learn through play, and do often work their hardest for a teacher who they trust and develop a dependable relationship with. It truly is very disconcerting .
I saw this article in Shashdot right after reading your blog entry:
“The effect of population density on life satisfaction was therefore more than twice as large for low-IQ individuals than for high-IQ individuals,” they found. And “more intelligent individuals were actually less satisfied with life if they socialized with their friends more frequently.”
Let me repeat that last one: When smart people spend more time with their friends, it makes them less happy.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/03/18/why-smart-people-are-better-off-with-fewer-friends/
Absolutely spot on! Humans are DYING from a lack of connectedness…the real thing not the artificial. It is so sad to see the increase in depression and suicide as we have grown further and further apart. People are so hungry for simple interaction that when they are unable to use their electronic devices they practically envelope you with their conversation and life! It is my hope that we will begin putting the artificial down and move toward one another in genuine interactions, building one another up and helping our own families build a base of real desire to remain in that realm of the solid connection we can only form one to one…
Connection is an inherent longing. Synthetic popularity, no matter how bloated, bursts before it can deliver its promise of fulfillment. Communication is 93% body language and tone. Building meaning on 7% of words used is proving fatal. Let me see you live and I shall live more fully!