Smartphones, Immobilized People
Next time you are at a sit-down restaurant, take a look around. There will be your typical restaurant sounds – waiters bustling about, orders coming in, and food coming out – but what will really be prevalent, is the absence of conversation. Eyes looking into laps rather than locked into engaging conversation, people today are consumed with the virtual realms accessible through smartphones.
We live in a digital age in which we are present, but not actually there. Technology created to bring people together and enable them to keep in touch has actually driven us farther apart. We use smartphones, not as a means to maintain relationships, but rather as a tool to avoid potentially uncomfortable situations. As a result, “small talk” no longer exists. Instead replaced by constantly refreshed newsfeeds, our generation is losing crucial social skills needed to be successful in the real world. The influx of new and exciting social networking platforms has redefined the current perception of “friendship”. For example, the terms “followers” and “friends” should never be synonymous, a “face-to-face” should never be initiated by a tiny blue icon, and our problems should never be “blocked” or “unfollowed” away.
Why has this social media epidemic affected our lives in such a consuming manner? Many blame the aging of the millennial generation. While it is true that we were the first age group brought up in this new technological era and these new innovations are certainly customary to us, older generations too are just as guilty of reverting to the all-consuming digital world. It is simply fact that in most professions, one must possess skills with the internet, social networks, and smartphones just in order to keep up.
Still, others point blame toward the ever-evolving face of technology as the source of our digital tunnel vision. As the capacity of technology continues to develop, the market for smartphones expands larger and larger and a greater pool of consumers fall victim to the social media craze sweeping our nation. The more we tweak and expand the confines of the digital world, the greater hold that very world has on us and the further we diverge from one another. In short, the invention is becoming its own architect.
According to statisticsbrain.com, the average adult attention span has decreased in the past few years from twelve to eight seconds, a second shorter than that of a mere goldfish. Just like the glass walls of a fish tank, our lives have become standardized through our numerous social networking accounts. With the touch of a screen, the entry of a login, we are able to access the daily intimate details, accomplishments, and sorrows of our online “friends”. Our self-worth is all too often reduced to a number of likes or the popularity of a tweet. As a generation, we need to take a vow to stop condensing our lives to one-hundred and forty characters, put down the phones, and truly start living.
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