Our conversations and lives are dictated by smartphones more than ever before, and this has awful consequences. Humans have always sought attention and avoided boredom, but recently this has been pushed to an unhealthy extreme.
The technology behind phones has come a long way since Steve Jobs unveiled the original iPhone in 2007. More responsive, powerful and personal than ever before, phones provide a way to easily keep in touch with anyone, find anything and keep us entertained. Sharing and communicating has never been easier in all of human history.
Smartphones are invaluable in our modern world. Staying in touch with friends and family, maintaining productivity and being entertained is all easier now than ever before. However, this incredible connectivity offered by smartphones can be harmful. Far too often, I see students around campus glued to their phones in hopes of escaping boredom, or heavily distracted while doing work. This is definitely unhealthy. Everyone should think carefully the next time they reach for their phone.
Because communicating and sharing information is easy, it isn’t hard to abuse this power we now have. It’s difficult to have some form of social interaction nowadays without someone checking their phone. Sometimes this can be useful, but more often than not, it’s incredibly harmful to the intimacy and mutual respect involved in a conversation. This is so common, there is even a word for the act now, “phubbing.” This has become more or less socially acceptable, but is completely contradictory to the nature of conversation.
Browsing social media during a conversation makes no sense. Why would one actively avoid genuine social interaction to pursue artificial social interaction? In my experience, it seems to be a mix of certain factors. When a conversation turns uncomfortable, a natural reaction for some is to pull out their phones and seek comfort in the familiar. Additionally, some people don’t think they need to fully focus on a conversation, so they multitask – juggling the conversation at hand with whatever supplementary social interaction they get through their phone.
Conversations are not always comfortable – this is a good thing. Being able to move out of a comfort zone allows people to experience new perspectives and grow. A lack of full concentration on a discussion may not only lead to lapses in understanding, but also communicates to the other person a lack of respect and empathy.
In solitude, smartphones can also provide an avenue for entertainment in hopes of fighting off boredom. We have been conditioned by the widespread availability of information, thanks to the internet, to always seek what interests us. Parents now turn to tablets and other technology to keep children occupied – nailing in the idea that boredom is to be avoided early in development.
Long gone are the days of being truly “bored,” and this is a terrible loss. The boredom I’m referring to is not the sort that deals with uninteresting lectures, but the boredom in lack of activity. We constantly want something to do, but boredom allows the mind to wander and think on its own. There is a certain tranquility in boredom; one can reflect on past events and just relax. Today, we are constantly bombarded by external stimulation, so having a bit of time to think independently is extremely beneficial.
I’m not claiming to be perfect – I’m definitely guilty of checking my phone during a conversation or when I’m bored. However, I’m fighting the urge constantly. I wouldn’t want to be ignored, myself, so I strive to keep my phone in my pocket and respect the art of conversation. I’m not asking for smartphones to be eliminated, but I think if we all paused and thought for a bit before instinctively whipping out our phones, it might be for the better.
