Smartphone Addiction

[Luxman]

This behavior could lead to a society where physical contact or even being in the presence of other people will be taboo.

http://www.amusingplanet.com/2015/10/eric-pickersgill-removes-smartphones.html

 

[zipper_666]

Yeah , it blows my mind that people are so addicted to these phones. Me personally ....I cannot stand the damn thing, but I obviously have one so that the models can text me, scheduling the shoots ...mostly business reasons and so forth. But yeah, society sure has changed a bit ...mostly in terms of people not communicating with others as much as they used to. Hell, I absolutely love communicating with people IN PERSON and FACE TO FACE. Seems like some people are a little scared to do that these days. It really is kinda sad ...and rather pathetic too, if you ask me.

 

[Jagger69]

I can't stand to see what's happened to p2p communication. Some time ago, I left for a business trip and my flight was really early so I'm riding the bus from remote parking to the terminal at like 5:30am. There were about 6 other people (all of them traveling schmucks like me....who else would be compelled to be on a shuttle bus at 5:30am?). Anyway, we're chugging along to the terminal in the darkness and every other guy on the bus is hunched over his little smartphone like Smeagol admiring his "precious" and not saying a word or even looking up. All of a sudden, I blared out, "So, how's everybody doin' this morning?? Everyone on the bus stopped, looked at me like I was fucking crazy (debatable, but that's another thread perhaps) and then immediately went back to giving their little smartphones their undivided attention without uttering a word.

Sad....the more connected the world becomes as one, the less connected we are becoming as individuals. How many people on this forum even know who their neighbors are? More don't than do is my guess.

 

[FreeOnes_Adam]

I'm definitely not a fan of smartphones. I don't even own one. For me, privacy is a major issue with those and lets be honest, no one reads or takes the app permissions seriously. Normally I say, hey its your life and that's fine but if my number is in your phone, and you give away permissions to your contacts in that app you just downloaded, you just fucked me. Photo of me in there you use for my contact image? Now they got it too.

And of course, we all know physical communication has gone down the pooper. How many people text each other to avoid phone calls now? I see the guilty faces

When I host events, I ask people to come unplugged. And don't plan on getting my wifi password. Bring your phone for emergencies by all means, but stay off of it while we're trying to entertain you. Your myface pages can wait, I promise you. You will live. Honestly, you will. I know you don't believe me.. but trust me. Really!


I saw this article the other day about how to keep people off if at parties, dinners, etc.

5 Ways to Deal With Dinner Party Guests Who Won't Put Down Their Phones

 

[Bribi1]

I recently started a new job and in the break room where we eat, 60% of people eat watching their phone.
I'm definitely not used to that. So we're here, eating, and there is barely any noise. And we're a team with great chem, but in that room, everybody can go on their phone so, well, they just do

 

[sean miguel]

I'm on it right now while taking a break. I don't know if I'm addicted but I feel butt ass naked without it.

 

[Jack Davenport]

I am convinced that 3000 years from now humans will grow an extra tongue with a 6 inch wide flap at the end that will enable them to hold a smartphone in front of them without having to use their other appendages. Just the natural evolution of man.

 

[Supafly]

... and lateron...

 

[bloodtypemd]

I'm going to go against the grain here a bit and defend smart phones. People obviously take it overboard and smart phone addicts are in fact real yes; however mobile technology is amazing and claiming that they have "destroyed communication" downright obsurd.

"People don't communicate anymore". Really? Then what are we doing right now? People communicate far more than they ever have before, they just aren't doing it with you. At any point in time I can join a conversation with people who are talking about a subject that I want to talk about. If I want to talk about porn I can go the freeones, if I want to talk about movies I can go to imdb, if I want to talk about football I can go to to NFL.com, and so forth. Now this obviously can cause a whole new set of problems but the idea that smart phones are hindering communication is simply false.

"Yeah but face to face conversation is better, I was on the bus/train/lobby and everyone was staring at their screens..." Yes, typical human arrogance. So I hold a device in my hand that has access to pretty much all of the collective knowledge the human race has acquired yet what YOU have to say is more interesting. If you find people are constantly looking at their phones rather than talking to you maybe it isn't that they are addicted to their phones, maybe you're just boring?

"I don't even have a smart phone, I hate the things". This is obviously your choice, nobody is going to force you to buy a smart phone; but I'd be willing to bet you still have a regular phone. The telephone you know hasn't always been around, and you can bet that when that technology hit the world it changed the way we communicate as well.

Obviously some people spend way too much time in front of a screen and I am in no way saying that face to face communication is worthless or unnecessary. I would just be a little weary about the supposed damage you claim it's doing.

 

[Bribi1]

WE are on a forum, it's no better than a phone. That's what people talk about here, FACE TO FACE communication.

People just go way over some lines with that. I mean, let it go a bit, it won't die just because you haven't touched it in the last 5 minutes

 

[sean miguel]

That's what she said.

 

[Supafly]

I'm going to go against the grain here a bit and defend smart phones. ---.

I never would knock smart phones or tablets. Especially now that I am doing community work with older people and am in the process of forwarding this technology to them. They have different topics and uses, and things must be a little bigger and simpkler. But this technology is genious for them.

Younger peope tend to go overboard, as we stated.

I have the habit of keep my phone or tablet in the pocket/case and on silent, when I am with others, unless it is about that gadget.

 

[Jagger69]

I'm going to go against the grain here a bit and defend smart phones. People obviously take it overboard and smart phone addicts are in fact real yes; however mobile technology is amazing and claiming that they have "destroyed communication" downright obsurd.

"People don't communicate anymore". Really? Then what are we doing right now? People communicate far more than they ever have before, they just aren't doing it with you. At any point in time I can join a conversation with people who are talking about a subject that I want to talk about. If I want to talk about porn I can go the freeones, if I want to talk about movies I can go to imdb, if I want to talk about football I can go to to NFL.com, and so forth. Now this obviously can cause a whole new set of problems but the idea that smart phones are hindering communication is simply false.

"Yeah but face to face conversation is better, I was on the bus/train/lobby and everyone was staring at their screens..." Yes, typical human arrogance. So I hold a device in my hand that has access to pretty much all of the collective knowledge the human race has acquired yet what YOU have to say is more interesting. If you find people are constantly looking at their phones rather than talking to you maybe it isn't that they are addicted to their phones, maybe you're just boring?

"I don't even have a smart phone, I hate the things". This is obviously your choice, nobody is going to force you to buy a smart phone; but I'd be willing to bet you still have a regular phone. The telephone you know hasn't always been around, and you can bet that when that technology hit the world it changed the way we communicate as well.

Obviously some people spend way too much time in front of a screen and I am in no way saying that face to face communication is worthless or unnecessary. I would just be a little weary about the supposed damage you claim it's doing.

I'm not against the technology and I agree, the ability to access and disseminate information is fantastic. There are obviously great benefits to it. I will maintain that to simply stare into the screen of your magical smartphone like some automaton and ignore the everyday courtesy of saying a simple "hello" or "good morning" to another human being is not social progress. Have you ever been in the middle of a real conversation with someone and suddenly they whip out their smart phone and begin reading emails or sending texts while continuing to mindlessly respond "uh-huh" to your continuing dialog with them? Surely the answer is yes. They do it without even thinking about it. In the old days, people would say that behavior is just plain rude. Now, it's accepted social protocol? The same thing happens when people are driving when they should be paying attention to the road instead of their smart phone....it's a downright dangerous (and, in some places, illegal) activity. And yet, have we not all seen people do it on a routine basis thousands of times? Worse yet, are you one of those people who actually engages in this activity? Gotta be plenty of people reading this who, in all candor, must answer in the affirmative.

Agree that smart phones ain't all bad but they damn sure ain't all good either....especially in the hands of a human being. There are times when you need to be using your smartphone for sure. It's become an essential tool for modern society. However, there are times when you should just put the fucking thing down as well and I think that's the point of the OP.

 

[bloodtypemd]

Moderation is the key I would agree. I also think texting and driving should be prosecuted harder than drunk driving, but that's a different debate all together.

Pulling up your smartphone mid conversation is rude, nobody with any social awareness is going to argue against that; but maybe You Might want to self evaluate how often you are in fact the person interjecting themselves into conversation and being the rude one.

If people are always on their smartphones as you say, then odds are they were on it moments before you started talking to them having a conversation with someone else. Isn't a little rude to just burst in and demand a person's undivided attention simply because you're in the room now and want to talk?

I can't count the number of times I have snuck out back for my precious 15 break at work to get a quick cigarette and check on my fantasy football team only to have it completely derailed by some dumb co worker wanting to join me and ramble on about their surgery, kids, or some other subject I quite frankly couldn't give a flying fuck less about. Perhaps I should be more assertive but "uh huh yeah" while staring into my screen is my polite way of saying "shut the hell up and go away, I don't want to talk to you right now".

It's amazing the number people that complain about smartphones destroying communication that can't interprete such little social cues. I've seriously turned it into a game; how many times I can say "uh huh yeah" before someone realizes I don't care what they are talking about (21 times is the all time record in case you were curious). If you seriously desire face to face conversation that badly maybe you could I don't know...ASK THEM A FUCKING QUESTION as opposed to rambling on with your story. There is a simple solution that nobody thinks about.

If every once in a while somebody zones out mid conversation and starts texting that's rude. If it's happening ALL the time, odds are YOU are the problem. People have probably been ignoring you you're entire life, you're just now noticing because they have a physical device to show you they aren't listening.

 

[Jagger69]

Moderation is the key I would agree. I also think texting and driving should be prosecuted harder than drunk driving, but that's a different debate all together.

Pulling up your smartphone mid conversation is rude, nobody with any social awareness is going to argue against that; but maybe You Might want to self evaluate how often you are in fact the person interjecting themselves into conversation and being the rude one.

If people are always on their smartphones as you say, then odds are they were on it moments before you started talking to them having a conversation with someone else. Isn't a little rude to just burst in and demand a person's undivided attention simply because you're in the room now and want to talk?

I can't count the number of times I have snuck out back for my precious 15 break at work to get a quick cigarette and check on my fantasy football team only to have it completely derailed by some dumb co worker wanting to join me and ramble on about their surgery, kids, or some other subject I quite frankly couldn't give a flying fuck less about. Perhaps I should be more assertive but "uh huh yeah" while staring into my screen is my polite way of saying "shut the hell up and go away, I don't want to talk to you right now".

It's amazing the number people that complain about smartphones destroying communication that can't interprete such little social cues. I've seriously turned it into a game; how many times I can say "uh huh yeah" before someone realizes I don't care what they are talking about (21 times is the all time record in case you were curious). If you seriously desire face to face conversation that badly maybe you could I don't know...ASK THEM A FUCKING QUESTION as opposed to rambling on with your story. There is a simple solution that nobody thinks about.

If every once in a while somebody zones out mid conversation and starts texting that's rude. If it's happening ALL the time, odds are YOU are the problem. People have probably been ignoring you you're entire life, you're just now noticing because they have a physical device to show you they aren't listening.

To quote Travis Bickle...."You talkin' to me???". If you are, you're about as wrong as anyone could possibly be regarding how you interpreted what I said in my post (after all, you didn't quote me so perhaps you're referring to someone else. If so, please accept my sincere apology). I would say that if you and I were having an actual face-to-face conversation about this, I'd convince you pretty quickly that your hypothetical assumptions about me and the circumstances about the episodes to which I refer are way off base. However, since it's an anonymous and online dialogue only, I don't have that opportunity. I can certainly live with that and, judging by your comments, I'm pretty sure that you can too. To be honest, knowing that you like to play mind-games with others and are actually keeping score when it comes to social interaction situations, I'm not all that certain I'd like to know you at all. Anyway, good luck with your fantasy football team.

 

[bloodtypemd]

To quote Travis Bickle...."You talkin' to me???". If you are, you're about as wrong as anyone could possibly be regarding how you interpreted what I said in my post (after all, you didn't quote me so perhaps you're referring to someone else. If so, please accept my sincere apology). I would say that if you and I were having an actual face-to-face conversation about this, I'd convince you pretty quickly that your hypothetical assumptions about me and the circumstances about the episodes to which I refer are way off base. However, since it's an anonymous and online dialogue only, I don't have that opportunity. I can certainly live with that and, judging by your comments, I'm pretty sure that you can too. To be honest, knowing that you like to play mind-games with others and are actually keeping score when it comes to social interaction situations, I'm not all that certain I'd like to know you at all. Anyway, good luck with your fantasy football team.

Lol. I'm sorry if you felt that that was directed solely at you. It was more of a general shout out than a personal attack (Don't think the irony that there was a miscommunication because we were talking online as opposed to face to face isn't lost on me, I'm seriously laughing out loud right now)

- - - Updated - - -

To quote Travis Bickle...."You talkin' to me???". If you are, you're about as wrong as anyone could possibly be regarding how you interpreted what I said in my post (after all, you didn't quote me so perhaps you're referring to someone else. If so, please accept my sincere apology). I would say that if you and I were having an actual face-to-face conversation about this, I'd convince you pretty quickly that your hypothetical assumptions about me and the circumstances about the episodes to which I refer are way off base. However, since it's an anonymous and online dialogue only, I don't have that opportunity. I can certainly live with that and, judging by your comments, I'm pretty sure that you can too. To be honest, knowing that you like to play mind-games with others and are actually keeping score when it comes to social interaction situations, I'm not all that certain I'd like to know you at all. Anyway, good luck with your fantasy football team.

Lol. I'm sorry if you felt that that was directed solely at you. It was more of a general shout out than a personal attack (Don't think the irony that there was a miscommunication because we were talking online as opposed to face to face isn't lost on me, I'm seriously laughing out loud right now)

 

[georges]

no smartphone, for me, just a basic phone.

 

[Luxman]

I only posted this because it was curious social behavior, but there has always been ways that people ignore others in social situations.
Like books, newspapers, music on headphones, twiddling a stick, etc.
People will use any means to ignore or avoid you if they have no interest in you, but as soon as you become popular or have money, then they're your best friend.
So a world where social and business interaction only happens thru smartphones, computers and the internet, may not be such a bad thing, with the exception of family and friends that you like and they like you.

What annoys me the most are the people with the bluetooth earpieces that connects wirelessly to their smartphones.
They are talking to someone on the earpiece and they are looking at me, I always think they are talking to me, and usually talk back to them, fucking annoying.
I have a smart phone but only use it when i'm out of the house. When i'm home I forward calls to my landline and turn it off, less EMF and microwave radiation.

 

[Luxman]

New Rule: Social Media is the New Nicotine | Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDqoTDM7tio

 

[L3ggy]

I have one, but I'm not addicted to it. I use it for what it's meant for, a phone.