Smartphones Don't Kill Conversations, People Do
Recently, lots of articles have been circulating the internet about people spending too much time on their phones and not enough time on conversations in-person.
Here I'll pose a question: is the problem with smartphones, or with people? What if, instead of smartphones, the same people who ignore investing time into in-person relationships, were given a newspaper, a portable media player, or magazine that interested them? I don't think the fault here is with the smartphone itself. It's simply the medium to all of the distracting content. It's up to the person to decide whether or not to engage with the notification, or to resist the urge to check it.
In other words, regardless of the medium, people will kill conversations because they choose to. No smart device is forcing them to - ringing, vibrating, or otherwise.
That's not to say people might need to spend less time on their phones - that is a fair critique. However before you assume the worst, consider what they might be doing on their phones is contacting a loved one, or a friend from far away. Conversations and relationships can exist outside of the in-person space, too. Assuming a good amount of time has been spent with an in-person relationship distraction-free, there's nothing wrong with reaching out to others on a cell phone.
Here's an example of a misleading critique of smartphones:
While the intent of this humorous cartoon is to compare how things are to how they used to be, I think it's missing something important. Each side gets four photos, but what it doesn't show on the smartphone side are the next 4 images motion-blur enabled photos and the 3 HD videos of fun on the beach. The age of smartphone cameras hasn't at all limited the photos we take, rather it allows us opportunities to share more and share more often.
Before smartphones, you couldn't capture unexpected events instantly on video. Before smartphones, you couldn't share a precious moment with a loved one instantly, regardless of distance. Before smartphones, you couldn't journal, take video, and take photos all on the same object.
People jumping on the "omg phones ruin our lives" bandwagon is pretty frustrating - especially when they don't consider all of the good spending time on your phone can do for staying connected.
🎮HR, Ops, & Talent Acquisition Specialist
8yYou are very spot on with this, people do not understand that they use technology such as smartphones because it is easier for them to chat on or ignore a person. We use it mostly as a way to communicate for things we cannot say to people directly or it may be easier when having a group conversation to do it in chat form to keep up with what people are talking about. You may not be able to keep up with group calls, but with chat you can look back at things or with conversations as well you can be like oh I remember you said something on this day and time. I believe smartphones help with chatting and looking back on messages or information that is important, it is also a way to keep in touch with people. It makes people keep in touch and chat with them more even if it is through a phone.
Managing Editor at Android Central
8yPeople don't toast toast, toast toast toast