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Originally posted by DEVERSE:

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Originally posted by Magonsdaughter:

It's not all the youngsters, it's middle aged people as well. What's the story with people not being able to turn their phones off, or not answer them. I've been in meetings with people who insist on taking calls. I feel like saying 'unless someone is dying, do you think that call could wait 30 FUCKING MINUTES'

Technology certainly has changed the way we interact with others and the world around us, and I think it's sometimes frightening because the changes are so fast, we dont have time to consider the implications. And by the time we do, the genie aint being stuffed back in the bottle.

So here is the conundrum. We can communicate instantaneously with people all over the globe, cheaply too. But do we feel more or less connected than say 20 years ago? And secondly, has that communication added value to our lives. I think of this every time another beheading video does the round. Or I stumble across some troll spitting abuse and vitriol.

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I don’t believe I said it was ONLY the younger generation, I said “it is MOSTLY the younger generation who have this problem”; referring to the addiction to phones.

Every age group has individuals who are addicted to their phone, but it isn’t as prevalent as it is in the younger (18-34) age group. Additionally, younger people tend to be socializing while older persons are more likely to be involved in doing business. Their fear of being away from the phone is that they will miss something important to their business; the youth are afraid they will miss a picture of someone’s lunch or what their “friends” are up to. Not an excuse, simply a difference in addiction.

Blaming technology for the failures in society is something I reject. The technology isn’t supposed to use people, people are supposed to use technology, and hopefully for the better. Blaming technology because people misuse it or are abused by it is just a poor excuse used by those who are weak willed and undisciplined and thus are controlled by technology rather than in control of it.

I am much better connected today than I have ever been and regularly communicate with people in North America, in Europe, in Australia and in Africa. Some is business, some is social. The ability to communicate instantly and cheaply has added value to my life and career. The difference is I see the phone as a convenient and advantageous tool that serves me and my needs/wants rather than something I must serve and pay constant attention to.

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Originally posted by 1kiki:
"... humans wind up being mentally, physically, morally, and socially flabby."

I was thinking the other day that people used to depend on other people - your family, tribe or village - for survival. In that sense your connection with other individuals was robust. But with the advent of complex economies (due to technology) people depend on systems. As long as they have a way to plug into the system for survival, they don't need to relate significantly with others. I think I'd call it the beginnings of being socially flabby as a species. And then of course you add the ultimate in non-contact technological connection.

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Originally posted by Magonsdaughter:
Not arguing a point with you, Deverse, just a comment which was a bit of a whinge on my behalf rather than a clearly thought out statement of belief.

I don't blame technology for failures in society, as I see the advantages of technology. It's just that I dont think we've quite fully grasped the implications/consequences of what it will mean to our lives and the immense changes it will bring.

The other interesting factor not yet fully explored is the changes to our brains that such technology brings, particularly given children's exposure to it at such an early stage of their brain development, and particularly given teens reliance upon it. Some interesting research already coming out, but not widely discussed.

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Originally posted by SIGNYM:
I wanted to bring up again the ideas of the computer expert that I know also. He's concerned that people are substituting calculations for understanding.
The smarter our phones and computers get, the stupider we get, it seems.


I read an recent article on a study done by psychology dept in Waterloo who looked at a fairly large number of people ... 886, I believe .... and found an inverse correlation between smart phone use and IQ.

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Originally posted by BYTEMITE:
To be fair, people are annoying. Why talk to people next to you if they're likely to just irritate you when you can talk to someone who can irritate you from hundreds or thousands of miles away?

At least one of those you can shrug off.

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