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Like anything, if used improperly it can lead to harmful effects.
Smartphones have always made my life easier and make my job easier. I've used smartphones way before they were called as such.
Back then, people used to make fun of me because I would carry a Palm Pilot and a cellphone but I said one day I will be carrying just one and they laughed at me again for saying something this big and ugly nobody would want it..
Like anything, if used improperly it can lead to harmful effects.
Smartphones have always made my life easier and make my job easier. I've used smartphones way before they were called as such.
Back then, people used to make fun of me because I would carry a Palm Pilot and a cellphone but I said one day I will be carrying just one and they laughed at me again for saying something this big and ugly nobody would want it..
I don't recall people ever being addicted to Palm Pilots though. Sort of like the Ipod touch, I know lots of people that had those but don't recall anyone ever being addicted to them. In my opinion, people needed cell phones but didn't necessarily need a Palm Pilot or Ipod Touch or rather couldnt afford them. For those that perhaps were tied to their Palm Pilots or Ipod Touch in the past, it was very easy to leave them at home, or in the car, while still retaining your phone so you could still stay in touch and even without these extras people were happy with that. Then, they merged all of this technology into one unit and you got all of these extras included on your phone. Do you need them, nope, but they sure market them like you do. Start playing around on them and your hooked. People spend more money on a new model phone that has no new features, but rather just because its the new model. They market these things now like a new car. So much money wasted.
I have a smart phone and other than the phone, there is absolutely nothing about it that has made my life any better than it was before. Do I use other features of it? Sure, but just because they are there, not because I need to. I could go back to a regular phone tomorrow and be fine with it. Society thinks we all need to be connected via Facebook 24 hours a day, always have to be on the internet, always have to be playing a game, etc.. because people don't know how to make the best of the time they have without being facedown on an electronic.
There are those, however, that do use the features of a smartphone without abusing them such as yourself it seems. This rant isn't towards those but to everyone else.
The smart-phone is just the latest technology that the usual freakers-out think is going to be the end of the world as we know it.
Twenty years ago it was the internet, accessed almost universally from a clunky desktop. Before that, television was the techno-boogeyman. Back in the 1950s, it was radio. It's always something terrifying those who confuse change with degradation.
The world changes. To believe that it was 'better' because in your formative youthful years thing were 'simpler' is just so much navel-gazing.
You have to be somewhat oblivious (perhaps glued to your smartphone yourself) to not perceive the detrimental effects of smartphone prevalence on a day-to-day basis. People are more self-absorbed, less engaged with their surroundings. There is less to gain from social outings, as tijlover alluded to in his post--like him, I often no longer go to bars, because what is the point when socializing is typically all but impossible? Personally, I only go if I have a pre-defined reason for going, whereas in the past I used to enjoy spontaneous stops at random bars. Smartphones have a homogenizing effect on culture, and they make people more superficial. They are also a hazard for drivers and pedestrians alike--I nearly hit a guy yesterday who was looking down at a device as he started into traffic right in front of me.
But, yeah, now he have f*cking Uber. Great tradeoff. Ironically I have a couple Uber-like app ideas of my own that I think would be quite successful were I to ever overcome my anti-smartphone sentiment. I do not think it is a sentiment that should be 'overcome', however. And, yes, it's only going to get worse as portable technology becomes more immersive. I'm 31, so hardly some Greatest Generation personage pining for the days of fireside chats with/radio addresses by the President. I simply deal with reality as objectively as possible, and I don't think there's much of a case against the idea that smartphones have to this point been, and for the foreseeable future will be, a net negative for society.
You have to be somewhat oblivious (perhaps glued to your smartphone yourself) to not perceive the detrimental effects of smartphone prevalence on a day-to-day basis. People are more self-absorbed, less engaged with their surroundings. There is less to gain from social outings, as tijlover alluded to in his post--like him, I often no longer go to bars, because what is the point when socializing is typically all but impossible? Personally, I only go if I have a pre-defined reason for going, whereas in the past I used to enjoy spontaneous stops at random bars. Smartphones have a homogenizing effect on culture, and they make people more superficial. They are also a hazard for drivers and pedestrians alike--I nearly hit a guy yesterday who was looking down at a device as he started into traffic right in front of me.
But, yeah, now he have f*cking Uber. Great tradeoff. Ironically I have a couple Uber-like app ideas of my own that I think would be quite successful were I to ever overcome my anti-smartphone sentiment. I do not think it is a sentiment that should be 'overcome', however. And, yes, it's only going to get worse as portable technology becomes more immersive. I'm 31, so hardly some Greatest Generation personage pining for the days of fireside chats with/radio addresses by the President. I simply deal with reality as objectively as possible, and I don't think there's much of a case against the idea that smartphones have to this point been, and for the foreseeable future will be, a net negative for society.
Its almost like we are trying to re-invent the wheel in many regards, we have Uber now, but really, cab companies have been around forever, providing the same service, its a little different, but same thing really, a service to call when you need a ride.
I also agree with an above poster, everyone says that modern computers and smartphones are SOOO powerful, a popular quote is that modern desktops are as powerful as the computers used to launch the first man into space...but if they are sooo powerful, why cant we do more with them than we can? The internet has basically become entertainment, shopping and communications...thats it? Pretty lame imo, we should be MUCH more advanced than we are right now.
Its almost like we are trying to re-invent the wheel in many regards, we have Uber now, but really, cab companies have been around forever, providing the same service, its a little different, but same thing really, a service to call when you need a ride.
I also agree with an above poster, everyone says that modern computers and smartphones are SOOO powerful, a popular quote is that modern desktops are as powerful as the computers used to launch the first man into space...but if they are sooo powerful, why cant we do more with them than we can? The internet has basically become entertainment, shopping and communications...thats it? Pretty lame imo, we should be MUCH more advanced than we are right now.
My new Moto Droid is more complex than Iphones, according to Iphone users.
But it does not simplify my life, I should be able to plug it into my automobile for new remote programming.
My new Moto Droid is more complex than Iphones, according to Iphone users.
But it does not simplify my life, I should be able to plug it into my automobile for new remote programming.
They should do alot more than that imo by now!
I think a big part of the problem is, we have sort of reached a point technology wise, if the public has access to much more, it starts to effect the level of control and authority they hold over our heads, plus a lot of new technology has the potential to make certain industries obsolete, lets say anyone with a new smartphone can simply plug their phone or computer into their car, and it diagnoses and fixes any problem there may be... no more need for car repair places, towing services, etc.
Popular Mechanics had a '10 upcoming technologies within the next 10 years' article out not long ago, one of them was the ability to email/ text tangible objects...if the general public has access to this, no more need for UPS, FedEx, etc, not to mention all the other businesses and industries it would negatively effect.
So we are at a point where certain technologies must be suppressed in order to keep the countries economy afloat and not have a bunch of industries disappearing overnight, and putting 100s of 1000s out of work.
But on the other hand, if we keep going with this mindset, we will never really progress much further than we are right now.
Some of this on is on manufacturers, my old Nextel had one push speaker phone.
It was easy to find without looking, then toss on the passenger seat with zero distraction.
If I tried this with my Droid, there would be an accident.
To each their own. I don't want to be doing anything with my phone while in motion. If I can't do it at a red light, and then drive undistracted after that, then I pull over and park to do it.
These kinds of things are going to be moot once self driving cars hit the roads though, self drive trucks are just right around the corner, and the auto industry has the first gen SD models slated for 2018, so its going to happen sooner versus later.
Although I think eventually, in time, they will find all this cell phone usage can be unhealthy or even dangerous. Kind of the same way we look back at some of the dangerous things people did 50-100 yrs ago, we cant believe people did these things, the same thing will happen regarding our current time, people in the future will be looking back to the early 2010s and asking how all those people could have not seen the danger.This happens over and over again thru out history.
Sure, I agree. But it still doesn't change the fact that driving has become more dangerous than it probably ever has been before. I knew once things started getting bad, that it would take social/cultural pressure to effect change. It's happening, albeit slowly. Now, here in Texas, and elsewhere, there are fines for driving while using an electronic device. Too bad so many have died, and will have to die in the future, and families affected before this no longer is an issue.
Smartphones are destroying the most basic cognitive functions that we take for granted and is making everyday life unbearable for most unless they have a screen to look at.
Case in point: my sister and her family. They are all smartphone addicts. They'll come over for a "visit", then literally five minutes into the visit--after everyone says their hellos and exchanges kisses--they will all whip out their phones and stare at the screens checking their texts, Facebook, etc. for the next hour while people are trying to converse with them.
My sister is really bad. Whenever we go out together, she is in another world. She checks out. The last time it was because she was obsessing over a text my niece had sent her the hour before. All it was was a status update: "Cleaning front of the house." But for some reason, she waited for my niece to follow up with another text or phone call to further elaborate, then became increasingly agitated, anxiety-riddled when she didn't hear from her. Finally, my niece called her and she was practically frantic demanding to know what the text meant. And my niece was like, "What are you getting excited about? I'm outside sweeping. I don't understand why you're asking me what I meant..."
It's so frightening to see the transformation that all this tech has had on my relatives and society at large that I've been weaning myself off anything social media. I canceled all my social media accounts and have been forcing myself to spend less and less time offline and spend more time reading, watching TV, etc. Something is happening to people's brains with smartphones and it's scary. I believe that smartphones and social media has become the Matrix that franchise warned us about.
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