In a way, I think it's a modern way of filtering things that we don't care about day to day. Do we really wanna sit on a subway in silence twiddling our thumbs, and daydream? Do we really wanna wait on line for a few mins, staring at other annoying strangers ahead of us?
Using our smartphones when we're in the presence of friends/family is one thing. But using it during times of inactivity, to me is harmless.
> " But using it during times of inactivity, to me is harmless."
Until the definition of "inactivity" starts to creep, wider and wider. I've noticed that with myself and people I know, that's for sure.
Stealing a bit from the video itself - you're bowling and everyone disappears into smartphone-land while waiting their turn. I've seen this actually happen IRL, so it's far from a farfetched hypothetical. In the old days you used to use this time to, god forbid, talk to someone and make a friend.
Or you're at a party where you don't know enough people. Pre-smartphone you'd get sick of being a wallflower and some point, go "fuck it", and introduce yourself to somebody. Now you can just slink into smartphone-land. I've done it, I'm sure others here have too.
"Inactivity" is a weird concept. Short of being in a sensory deprivation chamber, there are very few moments in life where you're actually involuntarily inactive.
A few months ago I tossed my earbuds in the trash. I no longer listen to music (or podcasts, or whatever) on the move. I'm more present, less tuned out, and I've learned some things and had some spontaneous interactions that are worth more to me than listening to music I've already heard many times before. I like it. People complained about the reduction in engagement when the iPod rolled around and everyone suddenly had earplugs on full-time. At the time a lot of people thought society would grow out of it and the fad of being disconnected full-time would go away.
The last time I went to a bar I went up to order a drink and all 6 20-somethings at the bar were on their iphones (that's 6 individuals, at a place of social gathering).
The destruction of presence is more than just lack of eye contact. Not so long ago certain people could enter a room and demand attention - they were social beings whose mere presence affected brain waves and nervous systems. Their presence was sharp.
I don't see that anymore. People are dulling. They recede to the safety of a screen because it offers a way of saying - 'I don't need you, cooler things and people are in my phone'. We're in a perpetual standoff.
The problem with a free market is that consumers do not always know what is best for them. Local maxima rule the day. We need narrative, insight, and leadership to provide the activation energy to get ourselves out of the social wasteland we have created.
Ha.. I hear ya. I've seen guys in a party with at least 3 attractive single, bored females sitting near them, and they all just sink their heads into a smartphone instead. As if to signify they have much cooler things to attend to.
But using it during times of inactivity, to me is harmless.
Maybe. Another theory might be that our brains need more downtime than we are giving them. Or maybe we are filling our brains with so much useless knowledge that it is stopping us from remembering important things. Or maybe that time of staring out the window would've made me think of the next great thing.
That's what I worry about anyway when I whip my smartphone out all day.
Using our smartphones when we're in the presence of friends/family is one thing. But using it during times of inactivity, to me is harmless.