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I will be the first to admit, I love my iPhone. As the newest model is unveiled each year, I find myself wondering, "Is there anything it can't do?" Apart from functioning as my phone, it's also my camera, my internet, my GPS, my radio, my clock, my blog, my wallet, and my bank. I can't argue with their ingenuity or the convenience that smartphones provide. We can now accomplish in five minutes what 15 years ago would have taken us all day. Yet still I ask, "Is it really a good thing?" As I stand in the midst of a crowded street and realize that each person is wandering around clumsily with their eyes glued to their phone, most of their mental awareness somewhere far away, I begin to speculate as to whether the real zombie apocalypse may already be upon us. Do we control our phones, or have they begun to control us? Do the benefits they provide outweigh the costs? I've recently put a lot of thought into the subject. Allow me to illustrate some of my observations:
Smartphones get kids in trouble.
Raised in the age of the internet, most teenagers cannot even remember a time before smartphones. Most of them have them. In fact, a study done in 2012 revealed that 6 in 10 kids have a smartphone by age 11. Age 11! Remember how I just mentioned all the things that a smart phone can do, including accessing practically anything on the internet? Well, 60% of parents are putting that power into the hands of their 11-year-old. Perhaps what's even more astounding is how they actually seem to be surprised when their child ends up succumbing to one of the various opportunities for mischief constantly at their fingertips, including but not limited to: "sexting," pornography, unauthorized online purchases, cyber bullying, late night phone calls, and academic dishonesty. And honestly, can you blame them? During an age where actions are controlled primarily by hormonal impulses rather than logic, you are putting the ultimate temptation device into their hands and leaving them unsupervised with it. It doesn't mean your kid isn't a good kid if they do something they shouldn't under these circumstances. Imagine putting your dog's favorite treat on the floor and instructing him not to eat it. Then imagine leaving him alone in the house all day long with easy access to the treat. 99.99% of dogs are going to eventually eat it, no matter how well trained they are. Would you blame the dog would you blame yourself? Furthermore, if you think that the "parental settings" on your kid's phone are going to stop them from doing anything, you are kidding yourself. For every parental control application that is developed, another is specifically developed to circumvent it.
Smartphones get adults in trouble.
Kids aren't the only ones getting in trouble with smartphones. Considering how tech savvy people seem to be with regard to maximizing their smartphone capabilities, they often fail to realize that they are leaving behind a traceable record of everything they do. Countless criminal cases have been solved using cell phone data. I can personally attest to that fact. Many of my clients "would have gotten away with it" were it not for something they did on a smartphone that eventually led the police to them. And it's not just criminals that get caught. I have seen many relationship troubles develop from smartphone use. I say "develop" rather than "get discovered" because I honestly believe that a lot of these problems wouldn't even exist in the first place if it weren't for smartphones and social media. They can be just as tempting to adults as they are to teenagers. Furthermore, just like teenagers, adults seem to feel a false sense of security regarding the confidentiality of what they are doing on their phones. One of the top ways relationship infidelity is exposed is via cell phone. There are even apps designed specifically for catching cheaters! But not all of the smartphone trouble is this heavy. Smartphones make it dangerously easy to post humiliating photos on the internet via social media. It's seriously getting to the point where smartphones need to be taken away from drunk people just like car keys. They can also create awkward social situations. For example, if you decline an invitation to a friend's birthday party because are going to be "out of town", you will have some explaining to do if they see a Facebook picture of you living it up at the local bar cycle through their feed.
Smartphones make us socially inept.
Apart from how they can get us into trouble, smartphones are taking away something even more profound: our humanity. Homo Sapiens are social creatures. Apart from our intelligence, scientists have largely attributed our pervasiveness over all other members of the animal kingdom to our natural tendency to work together and take care of one another. Smartphones are quickly and silently destroying that instinct. While social media allows us to be "social," many people habitually use it in place of real human interaction. And it shows. Communication skills are like a muscle in the body. When used often, they become stronger. When left dormant, they atrophy. And we are atrophied. I am convinced that any traditional notions of customer service will soon be permanently lost. Hell, even actual phone conversations are becoming a dying art. Since social interaction does involve some degree of effort, especially for introverts, it's too easy to be lazy and hide behind your phone. Being no exception, I have often advocated for texting over calling, arguing that the purpose of a call can be accomplished in 30 seconds through texting, whereas a minimum five minute phone call would be required to fulfill the same purpose. What I failed to realize was that those five minute phone calls are essential in maintaining our ability to deal with other people. Every "real conversation" you have is like a mini workout for your social anima. If you completely stop having them, you will find yourself in the same position I found myself in about a week ago when I had to go to a networking event for work. When I got there, I literally panicked. I was in a room of 30+ colleagues and I had not the slightest clue what to say to anyone. Thank God someone eventually broke the ice. It happened to me, and it can happen to you. Social paralysis is real, folks.
Smartphones rob us of our personal time.
While they fail to force us to exercise our social skills, smartphones are exhausting us in other areas. Mainly, work. As in, you can never leave it. Your iPhone is basically a permanent shackle binding you to your job twenty four hours a day. A study done in 2012 found that adults keep in touch with work an average of 13.5 hours per day by way of their smart phone. Others admitted to checking email in bed and 40% admitted to routinely checking their work email at the dinner table. And we wonder what is causing the destruction of the family unit! This happened to me, too. I ended up having to stop forwarding my work email to my cell phone because I found that I felt an irresistible compulsion to immediately respond whenever an email came in. Even on vacation, I still couldn't keep from obsessively monitoring my work emails. One Saturday a couple of years ago, I was trying to buy some quick staples at the grocery store in preparation for a hurricane that was predicted to hit within a few hours. I felt my phone buzz with a new email and I actually stopped my grocery cart in the middle of the isle to type out a response to a client's inquiry about her speeding ticket that was set for the following month. As crazy as it seems, honestly it didn't even register with me until she emailed me back that she was amazed that I had responded on a Saturday during a hurricane and urged me to be safe. That's when I knew I had a problem. And it's only getting worse. This year, we are projected to send 24% more work emails and receive 22% more on our smartphones than when this study was done. Isn't it ironic how something that was supposed to make work quicker and more efficient actually has us logging almost double the amount of hours?
Smartphones make us unaware of our surroundings.
This is one of the most troubling problems of all. The "digital haze" is real. You can observe it occurring anywhere. Just look outside on any busy street. I guarantee that more than half of the people walking will be wholly immersed in something on their phone, totally oblivious to the world around them. Most of the time, the worst that happens is that they will trip and fall or bump into someone else. But all too often, this behavior can result in tragedy. Accidents happen all the time as a result of texting while driving. It's also much easier for a predator to abduct an unsuspecting victim when they are unaware of their environment. People have walked into light poles and fallen into manholes as a result of not watching where they're going while on their cell phone. Remember, you're not only endangering yourself when you don't pay attention to what you're doing. You could cause harm to an innocent person. Try to peel yourself away while you're out and about. It could save your life.
Smartphones give us artificial ADHD.
This is something I have recently noticed about myself. I need to be constantly stimulated in the multimedia sense or else I will quickly become bored and drowsy. If you suffer from it or know someone with ADHD, these are classic symptoms of the disorder. It's not enough anymore to just sit and watch TV. I find that I also need to be scrolling through Facebook, eBay, email, or looking something up on the internet on my iPhone at the same time. Sometimes while I'm doing this, twenty minutes will get away from me and I'll have to restart whatever show I was watching because I have no idea what's going on. Thank goodness for Netflix! The only time I am "unplugged" per se is when I'm reading a book, and I don't know if that even counts since I am reading it on my iPad! I have always had natural ADHD tendencies. Technology like this seems to exacerbate my symptoms to the point of qualifying as the full-blown disorder. Since smartphones allow you to do so many things simultaneously and instantly, I perpetually remain in a hyper-stimulated state. Anything less and I find it extremely hard to remain mentally engaged. This is particularly concerning to me because it seems to suggest that I am never truly relaxed. What's more upsetting is that I am unclear on the permanence of this condition. Will these symptoms continue for the rest of my life?
Smartphones promote documentation over experience.
As a blogger, I relate to the love of documenting life. Who doesn't love looking through scrapbooks and remembering special days? Mothers of little ones devote a lot of time and energy into capturing as many moments as possible in an attempt to memorialize the fleeting period of early childhood. This is normal. However, smartphones and social media go hand in hand to take everything to a whole new level. Taking a photo or video on your phone and uploading it to Facebook with a caption can be done in a flash. Now, instead of documenting your child's infancy or special events like weddings, birthdays, and vacations, we document everything. Every meal, every whim, every workout, every political opinion, and every illness must be featured on Facebook: the never-ending, ever-growing, virtual autobiography where you get to be the star. Everyone has one and everyone wants theirs to be the best. I have seen everything from videos of marriage proposals (taken by the one being proposed to!) to pictures of toddler excrement in small plastic toilets. It's as if people think somehow that having these special moments carefully chronicled and shared means we never have to let go of them. The problem, is that by doing that, we already have. By focusing obsessively on cataloging every solitary thing that happens in your life, you give up the ability to just experience life. Instead of having genuine encounters, all of your "special" moments become nothing more than a series of camera-staged pre-recorded theatrical representations of your life.
A troubling prognosis:
According to a study published in the Journal of Behavioral Addictions, you may soon see cellphone overuse clinically classified as an addiction. This means that you will start to see actual treatment programs aimed at helping people separate themselves from their phones. Some argue that people who tend to be attached to their phones are primarily using them as a method of staying in contact with others. In response, I would argue quality over quantity. Yes, through social media we are more "in touch" with a lot of people but the majority of our contact lacks any meaning or substance. Even basic social cues, such as making eye contact when speaking to others are fading out. We remain transfixed with whoever's on the other end of the phone, while ignoring those right in front of us. If I'm not looking at something on my phone, I find it impossible to sit alone in a public place for more than a few seconds without feeling socially awkward or creepy. I know I'm not the only one who does this because this conditioned response is something I've developed by observing others. Cell phones have truly become the adult security blanket; we cling to our devices to feel a sense of connection and comfort in a lonely world full of people who are forgetting how to talk to each other.
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