Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation?

[Mihle]

17 hours ago, kirashi said:

*SNIP*

Please watch that video to see the lies if Prince Ea.

[jagdtigger]

Considering how many smombie i see on the streets i would say yes to the question in the topics title.

[Satisfoxy]

Oh yes, because hanging out with family you hate is so much better for my mental health.

[VerticalDiscussions]

Nah, its up to the person wether or not they choose to socialize physically or live alone and attempt to maintain a digital connection.

 

Staying alone can be more sane than being with others, just sayin.

[Misanthrope]

16 hours ago, Captain Chaos said:

Smartphones have made it so easy that people really rely on them.

 

Ask anyone if he/she knows his/her best friend's phone number.  Pretty sure that more than 95% will have to look it up on their phone.

 

Lack of attention span nowadays isn't caused by smartphones, that was already a thing before they came along.  Ever since the internet became mainstream, people go from one page to the next subject in a matter of minutes, so concentration really isn't neede .. ooh ... look, a squirrel!

True, the short status updates on FB and short length of tweets doesn't help to keep people focused either.  I used to be able to read an entire book in one or two takes, nowadays I'm pretty pleased with myself when I manage to read an entire chapter without putting it down halfway through to do something else for 5 minutes.

The good news is that this is reversible, not using any electronics for a couple of weeks will do wonders for your ability to focus.  Still, that's going to be harder for those who never knew a world without the internet and smartphones. 

So you think less of me because when I was growing up I had to get a clockwatch with a calendar and phone book cause I couldn't remember the phone numbers and birthdays by memory? Is that how we measure friendships: the ability of people to form long term memories of abstract numerical information?

 

[WkdPaul]

This thread was moved to the Phone and Tablet section.

[kirashi]

5 hours ago, Mihle said:

--SNIP--
Please watch that video to see the lies if Prince Ea.

Great counterpoint, but not really relevant since I already take everything on the internet with more grains of salt than 12 year old kids who played Halo 3 back in the day.  I take the videos that make me feel inspired and use them to formulate my own thoughts on the world, as I did in my lengthy reply to this topic. Even when you remove the exaggeration in the videos and nitpick the scientific numbers regarding attention span, mental illness, anxiety, etc. the fact that society is choosing to become less and less connected through the use of electronic communication doesn't change.

 

I'm not saying this is a bad thing either - to reiterate: using technology as a tool to enhance our lives is a wonderful and almost necessary facet of modern society. The problem begins when we start replacing human interaction, feelings, and emotion with a backlit screen rather than communicating the important topics in real life where we can laugh, hug, and feel each other's emotions. I keep telling myself I should have taken psychology, as I'm no expert in this matter, but I know that for me from prior experience that a lack of meaningful, heartfelt communication is what kills relationships, friendships, and business deals.